Ingredients
- 2 thick slices rustic bread
- 1 large handful baby arugula (or baby greens of choice)
- A drizzle of honey (optional)
- 1/4 cup toasted, crushed walnuts
- 1 ripe pear, sliced lengthwise
- 3–5 ounces Gorgonzola (choose a younger version)
- 1 tablespoon fig jam
Instructions
I like to toast the bread in a medium-hot skillet with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, but a toaster works fine as well. Toast the bread on one side in the skillet and then turn off the heat and remove the bread. Toss in the baby greens to wilt them with the pan’s residual heat; a minute is plenty to reduce these down to a more manageable volume.
Next, smear the Gorgonzola (as much of it as you’d like) onto the un-toasted side of the bread. Drizzle the cheese with honey (to taste). I like to press the crushed walnuts into the cheese at this point to ensure that they wouldn’t fall out of the sandwich.
Lay the pear slices evenly on top of the Gorgonzola. Don’t be afraid to stack them up; you want a lot of pear slices to counter the funky intensity of the Gorgonzola. Next, adorn the sandwich with wilted arugula, which will add a nice bitter and peppery contrast to the sweet and savory elements.
Place the second bread slice on top and slice the sandwich in half. Serve with fig jam in a ramekin on the side. (It would totally be appropriate to skip the honey and just slather the jam on top of the Gorgonzola layer.)
Notes
Writer Alexander Christiano is a UC Berkeley interdisciplinary studies student who developed a culinary passion by cooking for friends and family. He writes on dining, travel, and meditation for the Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s premier student-run newspaper. Additionally, his study of Indian philosophy has been featured in Oxford University’s Broad Street Humanities Review, a student-run publication for interdisciplinary undergraduate scholarship. His interest in meditation echos into his food writing as an emphasis on the well-being of animals and the environment through recipes that nourish the body and mind.
