Pears poached in perry with candied walnuts
Want an impressive dinner party dessert for four? Check out our easy pear recipe poached in perry, served with chantilly cream and topped with crunchy candied walnuts
- 500ml perry
- 150g caster sugar
- 2 strips of zest lemon
- 1 star anise
- 4 Red Williams pearshalved and cored
- 250ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
CANDIED WALNUTS
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g walnut halves
- 2 tbsp salted butter
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal785
- fat48.5g
- saturates25.7g
- carbs72.9g
- sugars72.8g
- fibre4.7g
- protein3.7g
- salt0.2g
Method
step 1
Put the perry, sugar, lemon zest and star anise into a pan and heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the pear halves. Simmer very gently for 30-40 minutes or until the pears are tender.
step 2
To make the candied walnuts, put the sugar into a pan and heat gently to dissolve. Heat until light golden then stir in the walnuts and butter. Line a tray with baking paper and tip the nuts onto it, keeping them as spaced out as possible to avoid clumping. Cool completely, then roughly chop.
step 3
Carefully remove the pears with a slotted spoon onto a plate, then turn up the heat and reduce the liquid until syrupy.
step 4
Pour the cream into a bowl with the vanilla and whip to soft peaks.
step 5
Add the pears back into the pan, spoon over the syrup and reheat for a minute. Spoon onto a plate with some of the chantilly cream, a sprinkling of candied walnuts and a drizzle of the syrup.
