PORT ROAST WITH PEARS AND PRUNES
Serves 6
15ml chopped garlic
grated rind of 1 lemon
10ml ground coriander
15ml fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
250ml verjuice
1kg smoked pork loin roast
10 pitted prunes
2 red onions, sliced into wedges
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
160ml chicken stock
3-4 pears, quartered and cored
Combine the garlic, lemon, coriander, thyme, seasoning and verjuice and mix.
Put the pork into a non-metallic dish, add the prunes, pour over the verjuice and leave to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
Remove the pork and place it in a roasting pan. Add the marinade and prunes as well as the onions, carrots and stock. Roast at 180°C for an hour.
Remove from the oven, add the pears and return to the oven for another 30 minutes until pears are soft.
Remove and rest the meat, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve with the vegetables and prunes and the pan juices.
If you are not able to find verjuice, use apple or grape juice instead.
GOAT’S CHEESECAKE WITH PEARS
Serves 8-10
200g packet of digestive biscuits, crushed
80g butter, melted
Filling
250g thick cream cheese
200g roll of goat’s cheese
125ml castor sugar
10ml grated lemon rind
30ml lemon juice
3 eggs
Pear topping
4 pears, peeled and quartered lengthways
15g butter
15ml lemon juice
30ml maple syrup
45ml castor sugar
250ml cranberry apple juice
2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped
Combine the biscuits and butter and mix well. Press into the base of a 20cm springform pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
FILLING: Combine the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture on to the biscuit crust. Wrap the springform pan in a double layer of tin foil.
Place into a deep roasting pan and fill the pan with hot water to come halfway up the side of the pan.
Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes until just set.
Remove and cool. Refrigerate for a few hours until well chilled.
Unmould from the pan and place on a serving plate.
Decorate the top with sliced pears and drizzle with syrup.
PEARS: Place the pears in a roasting pan.
Add the butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, castor sugar, juice and rosemary.
Roast at 200°C for 15 minutes until soft. Remove the pears and pour the remaining liquid into a small pot.
Boil until reduced and syrupy. Cool.
CHOCOLATE PEAR CAKE
250g butter, softened
250ml castor sugar
4 eggs
10ml vanilla essence
400ml flour
10ml baking powder
125ml cocoa powder
80ml buttermilk
2 pears, peeled, cored and diced
50g skinned hazelnuts, chopped
Icing
100g dark chocolate
60ml cream
extra hazelnuts for decorating
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla essence. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa and add to the creamed mixture.
Add the buttermilk and mix to form a thick batter. Fold in the pears and hazelnuts.
Spoon the mixture into a well-greased 23cm ring pan and bake at 180°C for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Remove and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.
When cool, pour over the chocolate icing and decorate with extra hazelnuts.
ICING: In a bowl, combine chocolate and cream and melt in the microwave on 50 percent power for 2 minutes.
Stir until smooth and cool.
PEAR STREUSEL LOAF
2 pears, peeled and chopped
5ml lemon juice
Streusel
250ml flour
125ml brown sugar
125g butter, cubed
10ml ground cinnamon
80ml chopped pecan nuts
Cake
500ml flour
180ml castor sugar
10ml baking powder
2 eggs
125ml milk
5ml vanilla essence
125g butter, melted
Toss the pears in lemon juice and set aside.
STREUSEL: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to form a crumbly mixture.
CAKE: Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder into a bowl. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla and butter in a jug and stir into the flour.
Mix to combine and form a batter of a soft dropping consistency. Grease and line a 12x18cm loaf pan with non-stick baking paper.
Spoon half the batter into the pan. Top with half the pears and scatter over half the streusel mixture.
Add the remaining batter and then the pears and streusel.
Bake at 180°C for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.
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