Poached Pear, Blue Cheese, Cayenne Pepper

Poached Pear, Blue Cheese, Cayenne Pepper

Serves 4
A French meal is always finished with a cheese course — a perfectly ripe cheese, served with fresh seasonal fruit. This dessert is my way of combining blue cheese and sweet corella pears. A little unusual but a wonderful and easy-to-prepare dessert.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 400 ml water
  • 200 g sugar
  • 5 star anise
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 2 corella pears, ripe not soft
  • 100 g soft blue cheese, such as Milawa Blue
  • 100 ml cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 20 g pine nuts, lightly toasted

Method

For the poaching liquid, combine the water, sugar and spices in a large saucepan.

Place over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Peel the pears, then lower the pears into the simmering syrup, cook until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pears, place on a wire rack to cool.

Reserve 100 ml of the poaching liquid. Halve the pears, scoop out the core with a melon baller or teaspoon, leaving a little hollow in each pear half. Fill with a tablespoon of blue cheese.

Place in an ovenproof serving dish, put under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt.

For the cayenne sauce, bring the remaining poaching liquid to the boil, add the cream and the cayenne pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

To serve, pour the cayenne cream sauce over the pears, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.