GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Keirnan Monaghan Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis
    
PINOCCHIO

Taleggio and Pear Baguette

Starters from Issue 6 – Fall / Winter 2015 – Magic

Gepetto was but a lonely carpenter spending his days whittling wood in his workshop until, on one fateful day, his carving came alive. And thus was born Pinocchio. Though Carlo Collodi’s original text was far more dramatic; some would even say, sadistic than the chaste Disney version—in his imagination, Pinocchio was not a bratty boy but an irredeemable rapscallion whose behavior was so incorrigible that he should be tortured in many a wicked way and eventually hanged by his neck from a tree—some things remain the same: Pinocchio’s need to immediately fulfill any passing desire or appetite, and his tendency towards lying, which makes his nose grow and grow and grow. To toast both notions we stacked a very, very long baguette with aromatic taleggio cheese and sliced pears: quick to make and easy to devour.

serves 2 to 4



  • 1 baguette
  • 1 to 2 pears, cored and sliced
  • 4 to 6 oz taleggio, thinly sliced

  • 1

    Split a baguette lengthwise. Toast cut sides under a broiler.
  • 2

    Turn oven down to 375°F. Layer one half with sliced pears and taleggio. Sandwich halves together and bake on a baking sheet until cheese is melted.
  • 3

    Always tell the truth.