Spiced Poached Pears

After getting a request to make something with poached pears, I set about looking for a recipe. The most interesting looking one I could find was with red wine in it lol, so here's my adaptation sans alcohol and with a few tweaks...Enjoy

Ingredients:

750ml (3cups) Red Grape Juice
1/2 Cup Caster Sugar
2 Whole Star Anise
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Vanilla bean, split
2 Cloves
2 Cardomom Pods
6 just-ripe Packham's triumph pears, peeled

Method:

Combine the grape juice, sugar, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardomom and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, turning occasionally, for 1 hour or until pears are tender.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a heatproof bowl.

Increase heat to high and bring the syrup to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Remove all whole spices.

Pour over the pears and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours to chill.

Arrange pears in chocolate cups. Decorate with roasted almonds.

Serve with ice cream. Enjoy :)

Kunafeh

There are 2 versions of this dish. One made with shredded phyllo pastry (the one I made) and one made with semolina. This dessert is really filling and not good for your waistline, but oh so tasty!!!

Ingredients:

250g Kataifi (Shredded Phyllo Pastry)

300g Akkawi or Nabulsi Cheese (Available at Middle Eastern grocery stores)

1/2 Cup Melted Ghee

1/2 Cup Milk

3 Tbsp Semolina

1 Tbsp Caster Sugar

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 Tsp Rose Water

Pistachios and rose petals to garnish

Method:

Cut the cheese into cubes and soak in water for about 4 hours, changing the water every hour or so. This step is to de-salt the cheese.

Break up the pastry into small pieces. 

Mix with the melted ghee. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a round oven proof dish with some ghee and place half the pastry into it to form a base.

Drain the cheese and crumble it. Heat the milk for about a minute then add the semolina and heat for another 30 seconds while stirring.

Add the crumbled cheese and caster sugar to this mixture and mix well.

Spread this mixture onto the pastry base.

Add the other half of the pastry over the top.

Put to bake for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile make the sugar syrup by placing the sugar, water and rose water into a pan and boil till sugar syrup is slightly thick.

Remove the kunafeh from the oven and gently separate the edge with a butter knife.

Invert the dish over your serving tray. Pour the hot syrup over to soak in and garnish with pistachios and rose petals. Serve hot.