You’ve done it again @progressivechef…you’ve made me explore the unexplored! When you set this week’s theme, my immediate response was “well there’s only one type of pear here in my small city”. Evidently, I was wrong and I went a tad crazy and bought every species under the sun (well what was visible at the time)!

I’m not really a big fan of the grainy texture that pears have to offer, the more cooked they are the better I say! The grainy texture becomes less prominent when heated, thank goodness so they’re not too bad post-cooking.
I know this recipe is rather unhealthy…admittedly so was my last one, but you’ve got to be a bit naughty sometimes- hopefully they won’t get naughtier or my waist size will be correspondingly larger!

Pear crisps

Using a julienne, thinly slice any variety of pear and place on a tray laden with greaseproof paper. Place in an oven at 150C for 30 minutes. leave to cool outside of the oven at which point they will start to crisp up.

Pear Cobbler

Given my miniscule oven here in China (oven cooking isn’t really a thing here) I have to work with pretty much a microwave- well at least my oven resembles the aesthetics of one. So ordinarily I would bake the cobbler with raw pears, but due to my oven’s inability to cook any food whatsoever sufficiently I thought it best to first poach the pears.

For these, add 2 large ginger root slices, whole spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and 50g sugar to a saucepan filled with around 5 large pears cut into wedges. Add just enough water to cover the pears and bring to a boil, then leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

In the mean time, make a cake batter by whisking together 180g self-raising flour, 180g butter, 180g sugar and 1tsp vanilla essence.

Next, pick out the pear slices and place in a greased roasting dish or cake tin and pour the cake batter on top.
Leave to bake in an oven at 180C for 30 minutes.

Frozen ginger and spice pear compote

Using the water left over from the poached pears, reduce the liquid by half by gently simmering. Then add chopped pear chunks to this- the spices and ginger should be intense enough from the reduction so no further spices need be added. Additional sugar is optional, but I think the liquid was sweet enough. After 25 minutes, when the pears are soft enough, mash the mixture using a blender and place in the freezer when cool enough. Mix every 30 minutes to prevent the formation of ice crystals and allow to thaw partially at room temperature before serving.

Deep fried battered pears

Make a pancake-like batter with eggs, milk and flour. When a smooth, not-too runny paste has been achieved, throw in a pear that has been peeled and cut in to wedges. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Pear cider and cardamom caramel

Boil 750ml pear cider until there is only half of the original volume remaining in the saucepan. Add 150g sugar to this plus some crushed cardamom seeds and 400ml of milk. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes or until reduced by half (yet again)- the result should be a golden brown smooth caramel, yum!

Earl grey poached pears

In a saucepan, boil some water with an earl grey tea bag, 100g sugar and the juice of 1 lemon. Immerse peeled pears into this tea and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

All components are now ready to be plated (if not overindulged by thine-self in the pre-plating phase!).

My boyfriend begged to differ with my plating skills this week so he attempted to have a try of his own (also because I didn't include a name and date tag in one of my completed plates, that being the main reason might I add!)...