Here I go again, throwing myself at you with the promise of melted cheese.
I'd confess to it being a vacation week gimme if this weren't a recipe that I've been intending to write down for the decade it's been in my appetizer arsenal.
That's not to say that served with a salad--that great mitigator of rich foods--these pizzette couldn't be dinner too.
I just prefer to ensnare my tablemates right away.
And presenting burnished, hazelnut-like Gruyère cheese blanketing a sweet, juicy pinwheel of Bosc pears, and a bed of onions that have been coaxed into sublime submission has proven a foolproof way as any during my domestic tenure.
Slicing them into eighths will keep your intentions fairly well-veiled.
Pear, caramelized onion, gruyère pizzette
Makes 2 which serve 8 as an appetizer
- 1 large sweet or yellow onion, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 -1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- salt and freshly-ground pepper
- 2 small par-baked pizza crusts or flatbreads
- 1 Bosc pear, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated
- 2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Add 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil to a medium sauté pan set over medium-low heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and a shower of salt and pepper. Toss to coat the onions in oil and let them come into their own while you kick yourself for forgetting that the best time to caramelize onions was yesterday.
When they are about halfway to nirvana (after 15 minutes, give or take), preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Build your pizzas on a baking sheet by brushing the crusts with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil, then strew your tawny onions evenly across the two pizzette. Next, fan the pear slices out in a circle on each crust, pear tips towards the center, overlapping slightly as necessary, taking time to admire your work.
Divide the cheeses over the two pizzette, season lightly with salt and pepper, and then put the baking sheet directly into the oven, or, if you have a devil-may-care attitude, directly onto the oven rack.
Bake until bewitchingly browned and bubbly, about 10 minutes.