Ginger Beer Poached Pears
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Pears and ginger is a perfect match. By using a good quality ginger beer, the syrup is well flavoured but not overly sweet.
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
Pears
4 firm but ripe pears
1 vanilla bean
3 x 330 ml bottles good quality ginger beer
1/3 cup sugar
zest 1 lemon
To serve
150 grams mascarpone or crème fraîche
¼ cup finely sliced crystallised ginger
METHOD
Pears: Peel the pears leaving the stem intact. Halve the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife.
Place the vanilla bean and seeds, ginger beer, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan that will just hold the pears snugly. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the pears. Cover with a circle of baking paper and put a small plate on top. This keeps the pears submerged in the liquid. Poach very gently for 30-40 minutes until tender but not falling apart, turning the pears once during cooking. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a bowl, cool then cover and refrigerate.
Place the syrup back over the heat and boil for 20 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup of syrup. Cool and refrigerate.
To serve: Stir a little ginger syrup into the mascarpone. Put a small spoonful in the centre of each serving plate and place a pear on top. Spoon the remaining cream alongside the pears and top with the sliced ginger. Drizzle over the syrup and garnish with a piece of vanilla bean and lemon zest.
Menu: Serve this with Lemongrass and Seafood Soup to start, and Chicken with Zucchini, Basil, Pine Nuts and Tomato Jam as main.
Keep up to date with
dish weekly recipes,
food news, and events.
latest issue:
Issue #114
Autumn has arrived, and with it, the latest issue of dish, jam-packed with recipes that will have you fizzing to get in the kitchen! With a long Easter lunch featuring perfectly pink, blushing roast leg of lamb and wildly decadent baked mashed potatoes with caramelised onions, to simply scrumptious chocolate treats and sensational seasonal baking this issue has you covered - we reckon the Hot Cross Buns are our best yet! Salads make way for soothing soups, pies, puddings and our cover star beef cheek ragù with spaghetti – a must-make dinner for family and friends. With over 60 recipes in our latest issue there’s plenty of inspiration to keep you busy – and well-fed! Don’t forget to share your dish dishes with our Facebook community.