I don’t think I’ve ever told you how much I love Comté. Comté is a hard, cow’s milk cheese that is made in France. It has a very nutty and mild flavor that is similar to gruyère. I really can’t get enough Comté, even though it’s hard to find a really delicious piece in the US. In Paris, I ate far too many dinners of Comté, fresh baguette, and wine. I think it’s why my pants stopped fitting. David Lebovitz has a fascinating blog post on Comté. I like these triangles because pears are the perfect pair for Comté, and everything is better wrapped in phyllo dough. I made these triangles for lunch with my friends. They are perfect with a fresh salad.

To make these triangles, defrost a package of phyllo dough. Then, grate a block of Comté. Slice 2 pears into bite-sized pieces. If you don’t want the pears to brown, you can slice them later as you fill the phyllo dough (but since they will be inside the triangles, it shouldn’t matter). Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and melt 4 tablespoons of butter.

Take a sheet of phyllo dough, and brush it with melted butter. Cut the sheet into thirds, lengthwise. In the corner of each strip, add a tablespoon of grated cheese, a few slices of pears, and a sprinkling of crushed walnuts. Fold the phyllo and filling over diagonally, and continue folding it like a flag until you reach the end of the phyllo strip. Diagonal, horizontal, diagonal, horizontal, etc. Brush the tops of your triangles with more melted butter.

Bake the triangles for 25 minutes until they are golden brown and crispy. Two triangles per person should be enough for a light lunch. Add on split pea soup, delicious salad, homemade ice cream, and oatmeal cookies, and you won’t eat again for 2 days.

This recipe is adapted from Whole Foods. They say to mix the pears with lemon juice and thyme, but I did not like that flavor pairing with the Comté. Walnuts are a much better match for the nutty cheese.

Shopping list:

• Phyllo dough
• Pears- 2
• Comté- 1 block
• Crushed walnuts- 1 cup
• Butter- 4 tablespoons