Pears
Geoff Jansz stewed some pears using an old family recipe, then used the stewed fruit to make a classic French dessert called Pear galette.
Grandma’s stewed pears
750g sugar, white or caster
750ml water
squeeze of lemon juice
1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large, firm pears (Geoff used Packhams)
1. Split the vanilla bean lengthways and scrape out the seeds.
2. Place both the seeds and the bean in a large pot. Add the water, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to simmering point.
3. Peel the pears. Split each pear down the centre, then remove the cores with a melon baller or a teaspoon. Work quickly so the pears don’t discolour. Turn the heat up to medium, and drop the pear halves into the syrup.
(Tip: to keep the pear halves immersed in the syrup, cover them with a sheet of baking paper and press down, excluding the air.)
4. Put the lid on the pot. Turn the heat right down and simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Switch off the heat and leave the pears to come to room temperature.
6. Serve with some of the syrup and some whipped cream.
Pear galette
frozen puff pastry
stewed pear halves
beaten egg and water, for glazing
chopped nuts, to garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Drain the stewed pear halves.
3. Cut the puff pastry into squares large enough to go around the pear halves, with 2-5cm to spare around the outside.
4. Put the squares on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Top each square with a pear half. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and a little water, to form a glaze.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C and bake for a further 10 minutes.
6. Serve hot or cold, with whipped cream or ice cream. To garnish, sprinkle chopped nuts over the top.