Pear Passion

Pear Passion

Written by on in Food Recipes
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In season now, a pear makes the ideal base for creating something sweet or savoury, so ensure you have it handy.

 

Pear Salad with Cranberries and Feta

Experience a guaranteed burst of flavours with every bite of this salad.

 

Ingredients:

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup dried cranberries

4 cups mixed salad greens

½ cup candied walnuts

2 pears, sliced

For the poppy seed dressing:

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp pepper, freshly ground

¼ cup of white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp yellow mustard paste

A cup of sugar

½ cup of vegetable oil

 

Method:

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a tightly sealed jar, and shake vigorously until well combined.
  2. Divide the salad greens among four salad plates.
  3. Top with cranberries, walnuts, and pears.
  4. Sprinkle the feta cheese.
  5. Drizzle the poppy seed salad dressing over the salad.

 

Pear Jam

This versatile slow-cooked jam will be the perfect accompaniment for hot buttered toast, an English muffin, or some funky blue cheese.

 

Ingredients:

¼ tsp clove powder

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

3 tbsp honey

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1.3 kg ripe pears, peeled, cored, and diced

 

Method:

  1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over a medium-high flame and bring it to a boil.
  2. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer for about 50 minutes, covering the pan in a way that the lid is slightly open, and stir occasionally to prevent burning.
  3. Remove from the flame once it has reduced and thickened, and leave it to cool.
  4. Pulse the cooled mixture in a food processor until smooth.
  5. Transfer to a heat-proof container; you can store it in the fridge for a week.

 

Pear Crisps

An alternative to any chips or wafers, pair these with a dip of your choice.

 

Ingredients:

2 firm pears

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 120°C.
  2. Chop off the top and bottom of the pears, and thinly slice as uniformly as possible.
  3. Place the pear slices on baking trays, ensuring that they don’t touch each other.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 75 minutes, then flip the slices over and bake for a further 75 minutes.
  5. Turn off the oven, leaving the pear crisps in for another hour to become crisp.