Anna Gare's Saffron Pears in Cider
Thanks to the lovely ladies at Detail I had the honour to meet several of Australia's best Chef's, including the wonderful Anna Gare at an exclusive lunch at Lakeside Joondalup ahead of the Good Food & Wine Show.While I love food and am obsessed with cooking shows - Chef's Table and Master Chef anyone? I don't exactly enjoy the process of cooking and baking. However one of the take aways from the lunch was a recipe for Anna Gare's Saffron Pears in Cider or as I would call it Drunken Pears and all the ingredients courtesy of Sisters Supa IGA. So I decided to take the challenge, get in the kitchen and try my hand at baking! Result, I impressed myself and have found a desert I will be making for our annual Christmas in July/August! Surprisingly easy - the hardest part is coring and peeling the pears and incredibly tasty, everything about this dessert sings winter and Christmas with it's cinnamon, cider and orange flavours! I like it best served slightly warm with vanilla bean ice cream, if you want to try the recipe yourself here it is!
Ingredients:
100 grams ( 1/2 cup lightly packed) light brown sugar
One litre (4 cups) apple and pear cider
One teaspoon saffron threads
One cinnamon stick
One vanilla bean, split lengthways
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
Six pears, peeled and cores removed through the base
Method:
Put the sugar, cider, saffron, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, orange zest and juice in a 3 litre (12 cup) saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add the pears and gently simmer for 10-20 minutes until sill firm but easily skewered. Cooking time will depend on the size and ripeness of pears.
Remove the pears with a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl, then cover and set aside.
Reduce the syrup to two-thirds over medium heat.
Pour the reduced syrup over the pears and allow to cool.
Serve in a bowl of fanned out on a plate with lots of syrup.
Delicious with vanilla bean ice cream, double (thick) cream, creme fraiche, coconut yogurt or panna cotta.
This is just one of the amazing recipes from Anna's new book 'Delicious Everyday' available from October 2016. I'll be tucking in to one of these tonight, enjoy!
Xx Nadine