LIZ’S BLUSHING NAUGHTY PEARS
- 6 Bosc pears (any pears will do as long as they are firm, not ripe)
- 6 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 30 ml lemon juice
- 500 ml water
- 500 ml sweet wine (I used red Multana, or any alcohol you prefer, if you use whiskey, brandy or gin you can only put in 250 ml and more water. You can also do virgin pears without alcohol)
- 15 ml red food colouring or food gel to colour
- 15 ml vanilla essence or 1 vanilla pod
- 250 ml brown sugar *(I prefer not too sweet, so add to you liking)
Dip pears in boiling water for 5 minutes and then in cold water for 5 minutes. Peel but keep the stem on the pear. Remove what you can see of the navel with the tip of your knife. No need to remove the core, keep the pear whole.
Dissolve sugar in water, lemon then add the other ingredients, lastly the pears. Cook on slow heat until the pears are cooked. Make sure that pears are turned over so that they can cook even and soak in the sauce.
I do not work from recipes, I cook from the heart, instinct and love to experiment in the kitchen. Just be creative and have fun when you cook. I wrote down more or less what I did to share with you. Taste your sauce, add more or less to your liking.
I served the pears on a balsamic and brown sugar reduction to make a toffee effect. Also 2 dollops of sour cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For the glaze on the pears, I used some of the sauce the pears cooked in. Put some sauce in a separate small pot, then dissolved one teaspoon of Maizena with wine and stir into the sauce until it thickened.
Recipe and photo: Elizabeth Randel Swart
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