Recipes and styling by IllaniqueI Van Aswegen. Photographs by Adee Ferhehu. Article from the Food and Home Entertaining Magazine March 2015.
Delicious in desserts and equally at home with savoury partners, pears are a wow-factor ingredient throughout your menu.
French toast with baked pears
The softly baked pears add a touch of sweetness to this stack of French toast. Serves 4, easy, 45 mins.
The flavour combinations baked pears
4 pears, peeled and halved
zest of 2 oranges
250ml (1 cup) orange juice
30ml (2 tbsp) honey
15g butter, melted
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
15ml (1 tbsp) rose water (optional)
French toast
5 eggs
80ml (1/3 cup) fresh cream
pinch salt
5ml (1 tsp) sugar
butter, to fry
8 thick slices bread
creme fraiche, to serve
icing sugar, to dust (optional)
How to do it
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. For the baked pears, place the pears, cut- side down, in a baking dish. Stir the remaining ingredients together and pour over the pears. Cover with foil and bake until tender, 30 minutes.
2 For the French toast, whisk the eggs, cream, salt and sugar together in a shallow bowl. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat until melted. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, and fry until golden and cooked through, 1-2 minutes on each side.
3 Top each stack of French toast with a pear or two, add a dollop of creme fraiche and drizzle some of the cooking liquid from the pears on top. Add a dusting of icing sugar if you prefer it slightly sweeter.
Cook’s tip
For an unusual French toast, try replacing ordinary sliced bread with sliced croissants – they’re buttery and utterly scrumptious!
Goat’s cheese, pear, Parma ham and pine-nut salad
This salad combines some robust flavours all in one dish – salty, tangy and sweet… they’re all there! Serves 4, Easy, 30 mins.
The flavour combinations dressing
125ml (1/2 cup) cranberry juice
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine vinegar
15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
5ml (1 tsp) sweet chilli sauce
5ml (1 tsp) wholegrain mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
4 handfuls watercress
3 pears, cut into thin wedges
200g goat’s cheese logs, cut into rounds
8 slices Parma ham
60ml (1/4 cup) pine nuts, toasted
How to do it
1 For the dressing, whisk everything together and season to taste.
2 For the salad, place the watercress in a serving dish and top with the pear wedges, followed by the cheese. Add the Parma ham and scatter over the nuts. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.
Cook’s tip
To add a creamy dressing instead of the cheese rounds, simply blend the goat’s cheese with a little milk and seasoning until smooth. Drizzle over the salad to serve.
Slow-cooked pork belly and pear open sandwich
The rich, buttery pork belly marries well with the sweet pears Serves 4 EASY 2 hrs 20 mins
The flavour combinations pork belly
600g pork belly
30ml (2 tbsp) Chinese five spice
5ml (1 tsp) garlic, peeled and crushed
10ml (2 tsp) olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
375ml (11/2 cups) apple juice
80ml (1/3 cup) white wine
Pears
30g butter
15ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar
10 fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 pears, sliced
125ml (1/2 cup) cultured cream
4 mini baguettes, halved
2 handfuls fresh rocket
cracked black pepper, to serve
How to do it
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C. For the pork belly, score the skin. Combine the Chinese five spice, garlic and oil, and rub it all over the meat. Season and place the pork in a roasting tray. Pour the juice and wine into the tray. Cover with foil and roast until fork tender, about 2 hours.
2 For the pears, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the sugar. Stir until melted. Add the sage and pears, and fry until tender, 2-3 minutes.
3 To assemble, spread cultured cream onto the bread and add some rocket. Top with-a few pear slices before adding thin slices of the pork belly. Finish with some cracked black pepper and serve.
Cook’s tip
Try replacing the pork belly with barbecued pulled pork or braised beef brisket. For a really quick alternative, simply use Parma ham.
Cheese board with spiced pear preserve and rosemary – flavoured roasted almonds
A simple preserve that makes full use of the sweet and tender nature of the pear – great with creamy cheese and salty Italian cold meats Serves 4, easy, 1 hr 15 mins + cooling time.
The flavour combinations pear preserve
4 (500g) pears, finely diced
1 (100g) apple, finely diced
170ml (% cup) apple/pear juice
300g sugar
250ml (1 cup) water
3 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
5 cloves
Roasted Almonds
100g raw almonds
15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
5ml (1 tsp) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Camembert, to serve Melba toast/biscuits, to serve
How to do it
1 For the pear preserve, place all of the ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow it to gently bubble away until tender and syrupy, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool.
2 For the roasted almonds, preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the almonds, olive oil and rosemary together, and lightly season with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting tray and roast until golden, 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3 To serve, place the preserve in a pretty jar or small serving dish. Add the cheese, Melba toast or biscuits and a generous helping of roasted nuts.
Cook’s tip
Other cheeses that pair well with pears are blue cheese, goat’s cheese and mature Cheddar.
Rose-poached pears served with rose water and honey frozen yoghurt
This is a decadent dessert that can be served with good-quality vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt, but making your own is always much more rewarding Serves 4, easy, 1 hr 20 mins + freezing time
The flavour combinations poached eggs
750ml (3 cups) water
250ml (1 cup) rose wine
200g sugar
3 slices orange peel
4 pears, peeled
Frozen yoghurt
125ml cup) honey
750g Greek yoghurt seeds of 1 vanilla pod
15ml (1 tbsp) rose water
How to do it
I For the poached pears, place the water, wine, sugar and orange peel in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer to cook off most of the alcohol, 5 minutes.
2 Add the whole pears and simmer gently until tender, 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes as the cooking time may vary depending on the ripeness of the pears.
3 For the frozen yoghurt, prepare your ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Whisk everything together and churn. Freeze for at least 1 hour after churning. Alternatively, place the frozen yoghurt in a freezer-proof container in the freezer and blend every 30 minutes in a free-standing blender until set.
To serve, place each pear in a bowl and add a ladle of the cooking juices. Serve with a scoop of frozen yoghurt.
Cooks Tip
To add a bit of crunch, top the frozen yoghurt with chopped nuts or broken amaretti biscuits.
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