“ I love almonds and pears together . Blackberries with amaretti biscuits , some mascarpone and then a couple of spoonfuls of syrup over the pear : these flavours all work really well together ”
POACHED PEARS WITH BLACKBERRY AND AMARETTI CREAM
Ingredients 5 conference pears 750ml red wine ( Grenache or Shiraz ) 2 vanilla pods , split open 200g coconut palm sugar 2 sticks of cinnamon 50g mascarpone 10 amaretti biscuits 1 punnet of blackberries ( approx . 250g )
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Method Peel the pears , leaving in the stalks . Pour the wine into a large shallow saucepan or a deep baking tray . Add the vanilla pods , sugar and cinnamon . Cover with a lid or , if using a baking tray , with baking paper and then kitchen foil . Simmer the pears until soft enough to be easily pierced through the middle with a knife . Remove the pears from the pan and set aside . Return the syrup to the heat and reduce until it thickens .
In a bowl , whip the mascarpone until thick . It will go from being firm to a double cream-like consistency to firm again . Into the same bowl , crumble 5 of the amaretti and add the blackberries , reserving a few for garnish , and gently fold into the whipped mascarpone . Warm up the pears , if you like ( in the microwave for 20 seconds ), then serve with a scoop of the amaretti and blackberry mascarpone cream . Drizzle 2 tbsp of the syrup over each pear , then garnish with the remaining biscuits and reserved blackberries . ● cotswoldco . com