Fresh Goat Cheese Pears with Pistachio Dust

Pulse the pistachios in a spice grinder until powdery fine. Depending on the size of your grinder, it might be best to do this in a couple of batches. Pulsing the nuts will prevent them from turning into butter, which, while delicious, is not what we’re going for here. If you do not own a spice grinder, some ambitious knife chopping will do just fine. Pass the ground pistachios through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to create an ultra silky dust. Reserve the remaining pistachios from the sieve for cookies or cakes.

Divide the goat cheese into six golf ball-size pieces. Shape the balls into free-form pears, remembering that nature refuses to make any two alike, so you shouldn’t try too hard either.

Roll the goat cheese “pears,” one at a time, in the pistachio dust until well coated. Shake off any excess pistachio dust back into the bowl. After the cheese is coated, you can reshape it if needed, but the less it is handled, the brighter shade of green it will remain. Use the small herb leaves to make the “pear leaves.”

The “pears” are best served the same day and can be made several hours before serving.

Recipe courtesy of The Cheesemonger's Kitchen by Chester Hastings/Chronicle Books, 2011.