All southerners know about that mysterious side dish that is served at family gatherings–Pear Salad. Shredded cheese, mayonnaise, and pears make up the traditional ‘salad’. There are a few variations to the super old school dish, some with cherries and none no better than the last.
For some my last paragraph is controversial. There are two sides of the coin, those who love it and those like me who dislike pear salad. No matter the alignment, we can all agree that its never bad to bring an old school dish into modern day (or at least jazz it up a bit).
My intent was to rethink the savory pear dish into something more upscale and actually edible. I like the idea of taking a sweet ingredient and turning it savory. I like the idea of smothering something in cheese and cream even more.
Creating an au gratin still honors the southern way in that macaroni and cheese is considered a vegetable. If you live in the southeast you appreciate a holiday table that is covered with dishes all similar in hue of tan with no greens in sight. We like our dishes fatty, salty, and smothered in butter.
Au Gratin is traditionally French but us southerners adopted our own version long ago – usually just under another name or dubbed a casserole. The principles for creating an au gratin are simple, layer vegetables and drown them in cheese and cream.
Since pears are sweet the balance (if you can call a fat filled dish balanced) comes from rutabaga. Rutabaga is another popular southern side item–remember tan hued foods. I tried to elevate the dish from country casserole to French-style fare by adding garlic, herbs, and hand shaved parmesan.
Take this dish to your next family gathering and it will surely fit it with its tanned sister dishes. I assure you the flavor will stand out as superior in the sea of Ritz cracker and butter-layered casseroles.
Ingredients
- 4 Bosc Pears
- 15 Ounces of Rutabaga
- 1.5 Cups of Half and Half
- 7 Ounces of Boursin Cheese with garlic and herbs
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Pepper
- 1 Lemon
- 4 Ounces of Parmesan
- 2 Tablespoons of Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- Peel pears and slice using a mandolin.
- Place pears in a large bowl and coat with the juice from the lemon.
- Peel and slice rutabaga using the mandolin.
- Place in the bowl with the pears, and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Next whisk together 5 Ounces of Boursin cheese and half and half. Set aside.
- Evenly layer 1/3 of the pears and rutabaga in a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Salt and pepper the layer.
- Add the second 1/3 of pears and rutabagas, then salt and pepper.
- Place thin slices of 1 tablespoon of the butter on top of the pear mixture.
- Pour over 1/2 of the half and half.
- Finish by layering the pan with more pears and rutabagas, salt, pepper, butter, and remaining half and half.
- Cover tightly with tin foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn the heat to broil.
- Take the casserole out of the oven, shave the parmesan on top and evenly sprinkle the remaining Boursin cheese.
- Broil for approximately 10 minutes, or until the parmesan is golden brown.
