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This simple to prepare, Pear Potato Cheese Casserole for your harvest table sports unique flavor. Additionally, it can serve as a main dish or a side. It also looks pretty on any holiday table.
Potatoes and juicy pears make a great seasonal duet for a casserole gratin. Especially when peppered with crispy pan-fried smoked ham, smothered with nutty, buttery swiss cheese sprinkled with fresh chives and fragrant fennel seeds.
For the pears, choose any soft variety. Whichever type you choose, make sure the pears are ripe, juicy and fragrant. Did that sound dirty? So sorry about that.
Use bacon instead of moke ham if that’s what you have on hand. Just make sure you cook it off first before adding it to the casserole.
Anyway, paired with a simple crisp side salad, this flavor-packed casserole is hearty enough to serve as a main dish for dinner. It is also a great fall brunch option and a creative choice for a Thanksgiving side dish.
If you are attending a potluck dinner, or even better, a potluck Thanksgiving, this is a great casserole to bring. It’s unusual and flavorful. You definitely will not be the second or third person at the party bringing mashed potatoes. Yeah. You know what happens. We’ve all been there.
Make this recipe Vegetarian:
You can easily leave out the smoked ham from this recipe for a vegetarian version. I like using a swiss or gouda cheese for this dish. You can also swap the cheese out for Gouda or Gruyere. However, cheddar or mozzarella would work just as well. Substituting a sweet variety of apple for the pears would also be a delicious tweak.
Pear Potato Cheese Casserole
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs medium sized red or yellow potatoes
- 4 ripe but firm fresh pears
- 1 small bundle of fresh chives about 1/3 cup when chopped
- 8 oz swiss gouda or gruyere cheese
- 4 oz smoked ham
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
Instructions
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Place the potatoes in a large pot of water, add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of sugar. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until they soften (about 20 minutes.) You should be able to easily run a fork through them but the potatoes should not be so soft, that they fall apart when pierced. They need to be firm for slicing and further baking.
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While the potatoes are cooking, wash the fresh pears and pat them dry. Cut each into quarters and remove the core. Cut each quarter section in half.
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Wash the fresh chives and pat them dry. Chop the chives into very small pieces.
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Cut the cheese into small pieces.
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Drain the boiled potatoes and rinse them in cool water. Use your fingers or a peeler to remove and discard the skins.
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Cut the potatoes lengthwise into quarters, then slice each quarter in half.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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Roughly chop the smoked ham into small pieces.
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Place the ham in a dry frying pan and fry until the pieces just start to crisp. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Lay the potato and pear wedges into a 9 x12 casserole dish, alternating the potato and pear. Tuck the pieces of ham in between the potato and pear slices. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Evenly arrange the cheese pieces over the casserole, then sprinkle the fennel seeds over the top.
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Evenly scatter the chopped chives over the top.
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Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until bubbling and slightly browned on top.
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Remove from the oven and serve immediately from the casserole dish.
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