Fiocchi Pear And Cheese Purses Recipes

FIOCCHI: PEAR AND CHEESE PURSES

Steps:

• Notes: Have an extra 1-cup or so of flour, to use when rolling the dough into strips and spreading it across the table. There is no sugar in this recipe; the only sugar is the powdered sugar that is sprinkled on the fiocchi. Out of the 2.2 lb of flour, set aside 1.5 cup or so for later, mix the rest with baking powder, salt; add the lemon zest (not the juice here!); cut the butter into cubes and add to the mixture. Mix the ingredients by hand. To the dough, add the following (you can do that in a Kitchen Aid mixer; by hand will do as well; easy recipe): 4 beaten eggs, then add the mixture of wine, lemon juice and rum (or grappa). Once all the ingredients are blended in, add the remaining 1½-cup flour slowly to the mixture. The dough should be dense but not too dense or dry (see photographs above). Depending on the type of flour and the room's humidity, you may have extra flour or need a bit more. I roll out the dough with the help of a hand-operated pasta machine, first on size 2 then 6. Cut them into 1-inch wide strips, around 17-20 inches long, depending on the size of fiocchi that you want to make. Put lots of oil in a pan (approx. 36-oz in a bigger, a bit taller pan) and heat it well. When a fiocco goes into the pan, it should pop to the surface in a maximum of 2 seconds after it touches the bottom of the pan. Fry on both sides until crisp and slightly golden. Put on a paper towel to dry the excess oil (because the fiocchi are much thinner than crostoli, they fry quickly and absorb very little oil, good for your heart! When all are done (and there will be lots of fiocchi with 2.2 lbs of flour), put on a big plate or bowl, and sprinkle each layer with powdered sugar. The smell of the fiocchi is hard to resist, the lemon zest, combined with other ingredients, does miracles!

LINGUINE WITH PEARS AND GORGONZOLA CHEESE

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears and sauté until tender and beginning to brown but not soft, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, carefully transfer pears to bowl.
• Add rosemary to same skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, Gorgonzola cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and cream. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, whisking occasionally, about 6 minutes. Return pears and any accumulated juices to sauce. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
• Add linguine and pecans to sauce. Toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

GORGONZOLA PEAR PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the penne in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain.
• Return the drained pasta to the pot; stir the butter, Parmesan cheese, and Gorgonzola cheese into the pasta and place over medium heat; cook until the cheese is completely melted. Pour the cream into the pasta mixture; stir. Remove from heat and fold the pear into the pasta mixture. Top with walnuts. Season with pepper to serve.