March is ‘Australian Pear Month’ to celebrate the start of the pear season. If you haven’t tasted one already, they’re especially nice this year.
The first varieties to make an appearance at markets and greengrocers are Williams Bon Cheretien, Packham’s Triump, Beurre Bose and Red Sensation.
The Williams pear is known as the golden pear as they turn a glorious yellow when ripe, while the Packhams stay green as they ripen. All four varieties are suitable for snacking, baking, poaching or salads.
And as well as tasting delicious, they’re good for you. Pears are rich in fibre, can help lower cholesterol and are low GI.
Top pear tips
- Check if it’s ripe by checking the neck. When it’s ready to eat, the flesh around the neck will start to give when pressed gently.
- Pears soften best in the fruit bowl. If you want to speed the ripening process, place the pear in a brown paper bag with a banana.
- Once the pears are ripe, store them in the fridge.
- If they become soft, use them in a soup or smoothie.
For this weekend’s recipe, we have a delicious dessert that the whole family can enjoy using fresh pears teamed with cinnamon, red wine and sabayon from Dutch-Canadian chef, living in Sydney, Paul Hegeman.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 pears
2 cups water
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
½ cup icing sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemon
Sabayon
4 egg yolks
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup marsala wine (or any fortified or sweet wine or sherry)
Method
For the Pears
1. Pour water, wine and sugar into saucepan and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Peel pears carefully, leaving stem attached (squeeze lemon over each pear as you finish peeling it to prevent it from browning).
3. Cut the bottom of each pear flat so it will present standing up later.
4. Place pears in liquid in saucepan along with the cinnamon (you may need to add more liquid depending on the shape of your pot, or float something like an empty mixing bowl on top of the pears to keep them submerged).
5. Place the saucepan on high heat and bring it to the boil and reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes, gently turning pears occasionally.
6. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and transfer to the fridge.
7. Meanwhile add a few more tablespoons of sugar to the liquid and place it on med-high heat and reduce it by 3/4's, so it is slightly syrupy when chilled.
8. When you are ready to serve bring the pears and syrup back up to room temperature
9. Portion the syrup amongst 4 bowls and set a pear in each then proceed on with the sabayon prep.
For the Sabayon
1. Place a saucepan with about 2 cms (1 inch) water in it on high heat to boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer
2. Place the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar.
3. Whisk until the yolks and sugar are thick.
4. Place the bowl on top of the simmering water and whisk vigorously until the mixture starts to become even thicker and almost double in volume.
5. Add the Marsala and continue whisking vigorously until the mixture is thick and very frothy.
6. Pour a little on each pear and serve immediately.
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