Cassis Bay Baked Pears With Blackberries Recipes

PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE AND CASSIS

Steps:

• Combine wine, honey, and crème de cassis in a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean halves into wine and add pods.Add cinnamon stick and raisins and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fill a bowl with water and add lemon juice. Peel, quarter and core pears and drop into the acidulated water. (This prevents the pears from discoloring.)
• Drain pears and add to simmering wine. Bring back to a simmer, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes more, until pears areslightly translucent. Turn off heat and remove cinnamon stick. Add almonds. Serve warm or chilled.

CASSIS & BAY-BAKED PEARS WITH BLACKBERRIES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Halve the pears - you don't need to peel or core them - and put them into a gratin dish in which the fruit can sit quite snugly but not overlapping. Pour the cassis and red wine over them, sprinkle with the sugar and tuck in the bay leaves. 2. Bake, spooning the juices up over the pears from time to time, until the fruits are tender right through to the centre. It's also a good idea to turn the pears over a couple of times. It should take about 40 minutes for the pears to cook, but it might take a little less or a little more (do check by piercing the flesh first). 3. By the time the pears are cooked, the juice around them won't be thick but it should still be thick enough and sweet enough to serve as it is. If you don't think it is, then remove the pears and bay leaves and reduce the juices by boiling them a little, about 2-3 minutes, then pour them back into the dish and put the pears back in too. 4. Add the blackberries, scooping the juices up over the pears once they are at room temperature. Serve with slightly sweetenedcrème fraîche.

CASSIS & BAY-BAKED PEARS WITH BLACKBERRIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Halve the pears - you don't need to peel or core them - and put them, cut-side up, in a baking dish in which the fruit can sit quite snugly in a single layer. Pour the cassis and red wine over the pears, sprinkle with the sugar and tuck the bay leaves under the fruit.
• Bake - spooning the juices over the pears from time to time - until the fruits are tender right through to the centre (how long this takes depends on the ripeness of the fruit; start checking after 20 mins, but it could take as long as 45 mins). It's a good idea to turn the pears over a couple of times while they're cooking so that they are cut-side down in the liquor for part of the cooking time.
• By the time the fruit is cooked, the juice around it won't be thick, but should be syrupy and sweet enough to serve as it is. If you don't think it is, then remove the pears and bay leaves and reduce the juices by boiling them for a little while, leave to cool, then pour them back into the dish with the pears. Leave at room temperature and add the berries about 30 mins before you want to serve, spooning the juices over them, otherwise they get very soft sitting in the red wine syrup.