Barbecued Stilton Pears

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 thin slices rye bread
• 1 ounce unsalted butter
• 2 firm dessert pears
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 ounces stilton cheese or 2 ounces other blue cheese, rind removed
• watercress (to garnish)

Recipe

• 1 trim the bread to oval shapes a little larger than the pears, and thinly butter one side of each slice.
• 2 peel the pears and halve them lengthwise- scoop out the cores using a teaspoon.
• 3 cut a thin sliver off the rounded side of each pear half to make it stand level.
• 4 heat the grill to high.
• 5 put the pear halves in a pan of water with the lemon juice, and bring to the boil.
• 6 remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, or tip into a sieve to drain; pat dry.
• 7 place a pear half, cut side up, on each bread slice.
• 8 cover with cheese slivers, making sure no cheese hangs over the edge.
• 9 place the pears, still on the bread, in the grill pan, and grill until the cheese bubbles.
• 10 place each pear on a small warmed plate, garnish the narrow end of each pear with watercress and serve at once.