Using up pears

I have lots of pears off our tree, they were hard but are slowly softening. But they have been bruised by falling off the tree and a couple went mouldy. They are tasty and quite sweet. What to do with them?

I cut off the bad bits then chopped up the pears into small pieces. Then I put them in a saucepan and added a little boiling water from the kettle. I added half a tablespoonful of splenda sweetner because it tastes like sugar. I put the pears on a low heat to simmer and soften. Then I made up some powdered custard with about three quarters of a pint of milk. In the meantime I was stirring and crushing the pears till they were soft and cooked. Finally I dished out the pears. I crumbled a couple of digestive biscuits over them to add texture and crunch. Lastly I ladeled the custard over the fruit and biscuits (a bit like a deconstructed pear crumble I think). The result was hot and tasty on a cool autumn afternoon.

Pears poached in port..

Cooked this tonight…

Ingredients :

3 small or 2 large pears

Shop bought pastry, ready rolled

1/4 bottle of port

Double cream

1 egg yolk

Method:

Core the pears as necessary, slice into small pieces.

Simmer the pears in a pan with the port until the pears have softened and the port has reduced and almost dried up.

Place the pastry on baking parchment or grease proof paper on a baking tray.

Cut the pastry into four squares, place the diced pears in the centre of each square and then fold the pastry up around them. Brush with egg yolk to glaze.

Put in a medium to hot oven (I used gas mark 6) for twenty or twenty five minutes or until they are golden brown. I found mine had a bit of a soggy bottom.

Serve when cooled with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves four (unless you are feeling greedy!).