Olives ,vines and a walnut tree…..

Pancetta roll with goats cheese,walnuts and pear.

When we bought this farmhouse, there was a lot of work that needed doing  before we could move in. The roof, the floors and all the windows were broken ,plus the bathroom did not exist. In the lower part of the house was a barn where the animals would have lived. The idea being that the heat they produced would rise and help to warm the upper part,  where a family lived. For a bath I think they used to go outside. They were tough  folk these country people.
  Nick and I  stayed for some time in a tent  and started to  knock down walls and pull up floors. During that period we also explored the land that came with the house. We were happy to find  olive trees ,old vines and a walnut tree. There was even a Palm tree , although we couldn’t work out why anyone would have planted a palm , other than to add a bit of exoticness to the area. The walnut tree and  palm tree  were our only source of shade from the morning sun. The walnut tree is huge , so this year I have decided to use as many recipes that include walnuts as possible ( if you have any suggestions, please let me know). Any way I’ll never manage to use all of the nuts , there are loads. Plus if anyone wants to come and pick some ,you’re  welcome. However in consideration of  my mission to use this free ingredient ,I apologize but for a few days you will find only recipes where walnuts are queen. Today for you a finger food, I used 6 nuts!!!! Gosh…. it’s not going to be easy…….

Ingredients for 16 finger food
6 walnuts
40 grams of soft goat cheese
8 slices bacon, chopped
½ pear
1tsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
a splash of dry white wine
Drop of water
pepper
 how it work:
Cut the pear into cubes. In a pan put sugar and a little water. On a low heat dissolve the sugar. Add the diced pear, wine, pepper and cinnamon. Once  the wine has evaporated and the pear has caramelized ,set aside and let cool. In a mortar crush the walnuts . Add the cheese and mix. Cut the bacon slices in half. Spread the cheese and walnuts mix over the slices of bacon. Repeat 16 times. In each slice put a piece of pear. Roll and secure with a wooden stick. Bake in a hot grill until the bacon is golden. Serve.