Recipe: Caramelized Onion, Cambozola, and Pear Galette

the appetizer:

Prepare for your next party with Cheese Hors d'Oeuvres by Hallie Harron, with recipes like Caramelized Onion, Cambozola, and Pear Galette; Mini Stilton Palmiers; and Verrine of Goat Cheese and Fruit.

Cookbook

Caramelized Onion, Cambozola,
and Pear Galette

Serves 8

Cheese Choices

A good substitute for the Cambozola is a farmstead blue cheese from Point Reyes, California.

As one tester commented, this is "positively dreamy." The combination of textures and sweet, salty, pungent, and rich flavors makes this new-age pizza a real delight.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 large onions, thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Two 3-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
1 ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
4 ounces Cambozola or Gorgonzola cheese, rind removed and cubed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2 Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the thyme, sugar, and vinegar.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the onions are very tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream cheese.

3 Layer the phyllo sheets in a 12-inch tart pan or pizza pan, brushing each sheet lightly with some of the remaining butter. Place the onion-cheese filling on top of the pastry and arrange the pear slices over the top in a circular pattern, leaving a 2-1/2 to 3-inch edge. Top the pears with the cheese cubes and walnuts. Take the edges of the pastry and fold them in toward the center. There will be a "hole" in the center of the pizza. Brush some melted butter over the top. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool slightly, and cut into small wedges to serve.

from:
Cheese Hors d'Oeuvres:
50 Recipes for Crispy Canapés, Delectable Dips,
Marinated Morsels, and Other Tasty Tidbits
by Hallie Harron
Harvard Common Press, 2008
Hardcover, $12.95
ISBN-10: 1558323716
ISBN-13: 978-1-55832-371-1
Recipe reprinted by permission.

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