Ravioli with pecorino cheese and pears

I don't have any suggestions, but this sounds amazing. I am off to find a recipe to see if I can make it! (Though eating it in Italy is always better.)

Just so you are not looking for a dish of ravioli with slices of pear—-Pere Williams is a type of acquavit or fruit brandy (Poire Williams or Eau-de-vit in French).

https://www.marzadro.it/eng/grappe/williams.php

I’ll bet it makes a delicious sauce with the right type of cheese (such as Pecorino)

But if you search for recipes, you will find some using actual,pears, not Pere William’s liqueur. Such as this from Williams-Sonoma:

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/pear-and-pecorino-ravioli-with-walnuts.html

There are 2-3 recipes online & I have a good friend who is a very good cook who attempted it but it was no where near right & he was so frustrated he threw it away. That kind of scared me from even attempting it because I'm not a good cook.

Technically it's not a ravioli but the little purse pasta. Forchetti I think. And there are minced pears in it. Very creamy & decadent. I tried once to do cheese ravioli with sliced pear but like my friend who can cook it was disgusting.

Pecorino and pears is a popular combination so I'm sure you can find it elsewhere outside of Tuscany, as pecorino cheese is popular throughout central and southern Italy (not so much in the north). There is even a saying in Tuscany: "Al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il formaggio con le pere" (Do not let the peasants know how good is cheese with pears). In the Lazio region there are dishes called Cacio e Pere (Cheese and Pears), which sounds like Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Pepper), a famous Roman dish. In any case, don't get stuck on one dish, but rather explore the different dishes of other regions. You might fall in love with more of them and soon you'll become a foodie as well.

I was hoping you'd see this Roberto! No worries on trying other dishes! I'm willing and able!!!! I love that saying too!!!!

Oh good tip! Thank you History Traveler I didn't know this!

Any time I'm in a new city I search for this dish & it's been hard since covid because I think I've found it & get there & they don't or the restaurant isn't even there anymore.

Imagine my shock when I stopped for lunch driving from Zion to Vegas in St. George & found it on the menu. I about passed out from shock & it was divine. Every bit as good as I remembered! The waitress said the owners were well traveled & she thought the forchetti was imported from France.

This Tuscan company offers a very similar product whose webpage lists the ingredients, including cubes of pear:
https://pastavalentini.it/raviolotti-pecorino-toscano-dop-e-pere-williams/
I would guess this would be a seasonal dish at a good restaurant as a fresh pear has an ethereal aspect that preserved pears lack. Was your Ciro experience in the autumn?

https://giadzy.com/blogs/recipes/pear-and-cheese-fiocchetti

Is the pasta 'fiocchetti" ?

Looks good.

Agree, St George Utah is not where I would expect find fine Italian cuisine.

Hi Mike - no it was late May. I think they have it year round on their menu as I've checked it every once in awhile over the past few years to make sure it was still there. Gosh that makes me sound crazy.... lol...it really is that good!

Fiochetti may be the right word. I know it's known as the purse pasta. The website The Kitchn has a recipe that I've debated trying but I truly am not a very good cook.

I've been to Italy 14 times and traveled pretty much all over. The only time I've seen a similar dish on the menu was in Florence! It was absolutely wonderful and something I would certainly have ordered if I'd ever seen it elsewhere.

Edited to add: Please give us the name of the St. George restaurant. I'll be in Cedar City in the summer and might be able to go down there.

Try my favorite from Ristorante il Nido in Sorrento: risotto with gorgonzola and pears. My taste buds are still in yearning for more.

Thanks for the tip Robert! If my travels take me that way I will!

The restaurant in St. George is Cliffside Restaurant. Highly recommend! Reservations recommended. I was lucky I could get seated at lunch time. Really nice town. I'll definitely visit there again. Kanab isn't too far where Best Friends is.

Here is the menu from the St. George Cliffside restaurant. They call it “Four Cheese and Pear https://www.cliffsiderestaurant.com/dinner-menu.htm