VANILLA AND VERJUICE POACHED DRIED PEARS
Description
(serves 8)
Flavoursome dried pears, sweet and slightly chewy, make a great accompaniment to cheese but are extremely yummy cooked for dessert or served at breakfast with cereal. For this recipe I use white verjuice but red would work also. You will find verjuice at specialty food stores. As a substitute use dry white wine. A perfect accompaniment is Honey Macadamia Snaps with Vanilla Yoghurt Cream.
INGREDIENTS
250ml (1 cup) verjuice
125ml (1/2 cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
100g (1/2 cup) sugar
1 vanilla bean (cut in half lengthwise)
330g-360g (16) dried pear halves
METHOD
- Pour verjuice and orange juice into a medium-size non- reactive pot. Add sugar and vanilla bean and stir over a medium heat till sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and bring to the boil.
- Add pears and bring syrup back to the boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook pear halves for 5-6 minutes then turn pears over and simmer for a further 4-6 minutes till pear halves are fork tender but still holding their shape.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a container to cool.
- Serve with Vanilla Yoghurt Cream, Honey Macadamia Snaps and drizzle with syrup. Any left over syrup refrigerate for future fruit poaching or to drizzle over cakes.
