This is the third in a six-part series on Eating from the Gardens of Niagara.
Next week: Corn.

I’ve always said we Niagarans have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the bounty of the earth. While the rest of Ontario buys their fruit and vegetables from grocery stores, in Niagara we have the privilege of driving up to a farm and purchasing a basket of freshly picked fruit right from the tree. You can’t get closer to Mother Nature’s goodness or more healthy eating habits than this.
It’s plentiful and easily available if you know where to go. There are lots of small farm stands throughout the back roads of Niagara that provide fruit and vegetables within minutes of being picked. Some are larger than others offering just-baked pies and home made jams. Then there is Kurtz Orchards Market, I like to think of Kurtz as Niagara’s gourmet farm market.
Kurtz Orchards Market is located on the Niagara River Parkway just on the outskirts of the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Sitting on more than 100 acres of orchards and farmland, Kurtz is a gourmand’s idea of farm produce. Here you’ll find baskets and bushels of just picked fruit surrounded by their own home made jams, jellies and preserves; antipasto, chutney and spreads and freshly baked pies, strudels and breads. Heck, they even have tables and chairs so you can enjoy a casual lunch of everything you can’t resist.
Depending on when you go, the Kurtz season begins with strawberries and cherries and continues with peaches, plums, apricots and pears. Unlike most orchard fruit, pears ripen from the inside out, so if you wait for them to ripen on the tree before picking, the inside will be mushy. I like the soft, buttery, sweet and juicy kind of pear, and others like the firm, crisp and slightly acidic. Most people have their favourite variety. From Bartlett to Bosc and Anjou, all are lovely diced in a fruit salad, poached in red wine or baked in a traditional French pear tart. Pears with a bit of cinnamon and sugar make a delightful alternative to applesauce with barbecued pork and chicken.
Bake the pear sauce in the oven for a few hours and you have pear butter. It’s a most welcome treat spread on bagels in the cold, winter months.
Pears are one of Chef Rob Perry’s favourite summertime fruits. As executive chef of Peninsula Ridge Winery Restaurant in Beamsville, he finds the buttery, subtly
sweet fruit pairs up with many of the winery’s fine VQA wines. It’s his opinion of a delicious match. Chef Berry’s cooking philosophy is to use the best of produce when in season and like the grapes growing all around the restaurant, he sources out most of his summer produce from the farms of Niagara and he can often be seen at Kurtz Orchards surveying the tree-ripened fruit and the
gourmet edibles.
Pears are one of summer’s delightful offerings and another great reason to be eating from the gardens of Niagara.

Pears Berry

This recipe courtesy of Executive Chef Berry at Peninsula Ridge Winery Restaurant. It’s easy enough to make. I add these pears to a platter with a slice of pate and a piece of artisan cheese. Now a glass of Niagara sparkling
wine is all you’ll need to complete this light Niagara lunch.

3 Bartlett pears
60 mL (1/4 cup) walnuts, finely chopped
17 mL (1 heaping tablespoon) sour cream
60 mL (1/4 cup) blue cheese, crumbled
5 mL (1 teaspoon) chives, chopped
5 mL (1 tablespoon) honey
1 bagette, sliced and toasted

Wash the pears and pat them dry. Slice them in half and scoop out the insides with a melon-baller or spoon, removing the seeds as well as the membrane that
follows around the stem. Be careful not to cut through skin of pear. Chop the pear flesh finely and add the walnuts, sour cream, blue cheese, chives and honey. Mix well. Spoon into pear shells and bake at 180C (350F) for 15 minutes.
To serve, place one pear half on a small plate and surround with toasted bread.

Makes 6 servings.

Pear and Fennel Soup

This yummy summer recipe is courtesy of Executive Chef Berry at Peninsula Ridge Winery Restaurant.

15 mL (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
80 mL (1/3 cup) white onion, chopped
125 mL (1/2 cup) fennel, chopped
4 pears, cored and cut into chunks
960 mL (1 L) vegetable stock
125 mL (1/2 cup) cream salt
5 mL (1 teaspoon) unsalted butter
1 pear, diced

Melt the butter in a heavy bottom stockpot. Add the onions and fennel and sauté until translucent, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Do not allow to brown. Add pear chunks and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room emperature. Puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add the cream and season with salt. Stir to blend and heat until steaming hot.
Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the diced pear. To serve, ladle hot soup into four soup bowls and garnish with hot diced pear. Makes 4 servings.