Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza

One could maybe call this a little fancy

The fall and winter pear season is upon us and I can think of no better flavor pairing than to enjoy them with a sharp and salty blue cheese atop a pizza bedecked with a light and creamy garlic parmesan sauce and a drizzle of honey balsamic reduction. The oven caramelizes the pears to perfection while the cheese becomes beautifully toasty and brown. One could maybe call this Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza a little fancy, but let's not use labels like that. Let's just say, this is not the pizza of my college years and that's okay. You can still eat this in the sweatpants you've had since college if you want to.

What kind of pear best to use?

The type of pear you use on this Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza is really up to you, however, I enjoy the following three varieties, which are most easily accessible where I live. If you have access to another variety you prefer, feel free to use that instead:

• Bartlett - Often green with yellow and red blushing, though you can also find red Barlett varieties as well. This pear is thin-skinned and very sweet.
• Bosc - Brown with firm skin and lightly sweet. This pear is a great choice if you find that you prefer a bit more bite to your pear as they do not turn to mush as easily as other pears.
• Anjou - Usually green, though sometimes red varieties can be found. This pear has a firm skin and medium sweetness.

What kind of blue/bleu cheese is best to use?

Whether you refer to it by its American spelling, blue, or French spelling, bleu, this sharp and salty cheese is one of my very favorites. The three varieties you will most often come across are the following, and all three are great options for this pizza!:

• Roquefort - A sheep's milk cheese originating in southern France, this cheese is lightly tangy, acidic, crumbly, and slightly moist with white flesh and distinctive veins of deep blue. This is one of the world's best-known bleu cheeses.
• Gorgonzola - A cow's milk cheese originating in Milan, Italy, this cheese is buttery, crumbly, and quite salty with white flesh and greenish-blue marbling. I find that Gorgonzola is a good option for those who may sometimes find the blue mold flavor of blue cheese overpowering as it tends to be somewhat milder in Gorgonzola, but is still sharp and nicely salty.
• Stilton - A cow's milk cheese originating in England (produced in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire), this cheese is soft and crumbly, with nutty and salty notes and delicate blue veins expanding from its center.

WHAT TEMPERATURE IS BEST TO BAKE PIZZA AT?

Your aim is a perfectly golden crust and nicely caramelized toppings, so the hotter your oven the better. Professional pizzerias often keep their ovens heated to 800 degrees F or higher, but most home oven temperatures only reach between 500-550 degrees F so this recipe is created with that in mind. I bake my pizzas using my Easy Same Day Pizza Dough at 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and get wonderful results. If your oven only reaches 450 degrees F / 232 degrees C, I have tested that temp many times over as well and it works well, though you’ll want to plan on a few extra minutes in the oven.

REHEATING PIZZA LEFTOVERS

My two favorite methods for reheating pizza so it retains it’s crisp crust while remelting the cheese is in the oven or in a cast-iron pan on top of the stove.

Oven method: Bake on a sheet pan at 350 F / 175 C for 10 minutes or until pizza has reached your desired level of warmth and crispness.

Stovetop method: Set pizza in a cast-iron pan over medium-low heat. Allow to cook until the crust has reached your desired level of crispness. If the cheese isn’t melted enough for your taste you can add a few drops of water to the pan (away from the pizza) and cover the pan for a minute or two to allow the steam to melt the cheese further.

WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?

• A cutting board
• A chef’s knife
• A small saucepan
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• A whisk
• A wooden spoon
• A cheese grater (only if you plan to use block cheese rather than pre-shredded)
• A bakers half sheet
• Parchment paper

Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.

Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review

• Author: Whip & Wander
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 1 large pizza 1x
• Category: Pizza, Mains
• Method: Oven, Stove
• Cuisine: American

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Description

This Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza with honey balsamic reduction is the perfect way to enjoy pear season this fall and winter!

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Ingredients

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For the cheese sauce base:

• 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil (may sub for 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + 2 minced garlic cloves)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
• ⅔ cup whole milk
• ⅔ cup parmesan cheese, grated
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

For the pizza:

• ½ recipe Easy Same Day Pizza Dough
• 1 medium pear (Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, or any variety you prefer), cored and sliced thinly
• ½ cup blue cheese, crumbled

For the honey balsamic reduction:

• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and set a bakers half sheet to the side.

For the cheese sauce base:

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt the garlic-infused olive oil (or olive oil + minced garlic) with the butter.
2. When the butter has fully melted, add the flour and whisk to combine fully.
3. Once the mixture has started to simmer and become frothy, add the milk slowly, whisking to combine. The mixture will look chunky at first, but will smooth as you whisk.
4. Once the milk is combined, add the parmesan cheese and continue to whisk until combined fully.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. The sauce should have thickened considerably at this point and be fairly smooth. If your sauce is too thick, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine. Remove from heat and reserve to the side until ready to assemble the pizza.

Assembling the pizza:

1. Shape your dough. If you prefer a classic pie-shape with a thicker crust compared to the center of your dough, I suggest hand-stretching your dough. If you prefer your pizza to be an even thickness, I suggest rolling your dough out with a rolling pin.
   • If you are hand-stretching your pizza dough:
     1. I like to rub a small amount of olive oil into my hands first; this allows me to shape the dough easier without it ripping accidentally from friction.
     2. Press the dough down with the palm of your hand into a disk shape, then use your fingertips to gently press down on the dough disk, further flattening it.
     3. To further extend the dough, I prefer to press one palm on top of one side of the dough and with the other hand lift the alternative side of the dough and gently work the dough outward, pulling very gently with the tips of my oiled fingers (like a very discrete “come hither” motion) to slowly stretch the dough out. Rotate slightly and repeat until the dough is shaped and stretched to your liking. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again. Transfer your stretched dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
   • If you are using a rolling pin:
     1. I prefer to place my dough between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to my rolling pin, but if you prefer you can also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough ball as well as wiping some over your rolling pin by hand to prevent sticking instead. Once the dough has been rolled to your preferred size and shape, peel the top layer of parchment paper off (if using). The bottom layer that the dough is resting on can be utilized for your baking sheet. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again.
2. Transfer your shaped dough to the reserved baking sheet.
3. Top with reserved cheese sauce, using the back of a spoon spread the sauce out evenly over the dough.
4. Top the pizza with slices of pear as desired, then sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles over the top.
5. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the crust has reached your preferred level of crispness and the cheese is starting to brown.

For the honey balsamic reduction:

1. Once the pizza has gone in the oven, I like to start my honey balsamic reduction. I usually rinse out the small pan I made the cheese sauce base in, but you are welcome to use a new pot if you prefer. Add the honey and balsamic vinegar to the pan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. It should quickly reach a low and steady simmer but not a heavy boil. Allow it to maintain a steady simmer for around 5 minutes and begin to reduce. If it starts to boil rapidly, reduce the heat. Once the combined mixture coats the back of a spoon remove from heat until ready to use.
2. Once the pizza is fully baked, drizzle the honey balsamic reduction over the top.

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Notes

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: ¼th of the pizza
• Calories: 563
• Sugar: 10 g
• Sodium: 846 mg
• Fat: 23 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Carbohydrates: 68 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Protein: 21 g
• Cholesterol: 44 mg

Keywords: Pear and Blue Cheese Pizza