Sunday 8 February 2015

What a Beautiful Pear!

Pere Infornati in Fiocchi d'Avena con una Glassa di Cioccolato & Lime & Pistacchi
Pears, Baked in Oatmeal with a Chocolate-Lime Glaze & Pistachio

 

"What a beautiful pair!", you will here them exclaim- but not in any rude way of course- they will be referring to the pair of pears you will be serving! Although, I have to admit, they do look rather seductive, don't they?

Basically, if you were to serve one of these with some plain, fresh yogurt, you would have a wonderful, simple breakfast... but with the added chocolate and pistachio- especially with that zesty lime flavor, these easily multi-function as incredible desserts!


 

When those pears get ripe to the point that you know they are just going to ooze with juice if you bite into them- that is the right time to use them to make this simple and delicious dessert- they will be finished in just 20 minutes and you will be thrilled with the results- word!

 

All you need to know here is which ingredients you need- how much of each will depend on the size and number of pears- the rest does not even merit measuring.

You will need oatmeal to cover the pears, cocoa powder and lime juice to make the chocolate glaze, with a little confectioners sugar or honey to sweeten it slightly and chopped pistachios as a garnish. That's all you need to know.


 

Rich and decadent, without even being that sinful- you know that's what I like best!

 

Step one is to simply peel and hollow out the cores of the pears- a melon-scooper is perfect for doing this. Also, cut away the nasty little end pieces... the stalks on the other hand look decorative and I prefer to keep them.

 

Simply cover the pears in oatmeal, just as much as will stick by itself. you can gently pat it down a little, but as soon as the pear gets hot and moist in the oven, the flakes will adhere better all by themselves.

 

Pop them onto a lightly buttered baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C, until the pears are soft and the oatmeal flakes are beginning to slightly turn brown.

 

In the meantime, stir together the glaze. I used 4 tablespoons of cocoa (bitter is better), 1 teaspoon only of powdered sugar and the juice of 1 lime- but you can vary the quantities to suit your own taste.

 

I kept the sugar to a minimum in mine as you only need a little to get a nice sheen- and those pears are going to be VERY sweet- so the bitter and sour glaze is a great contrast and so delicious!

 

Allow the pears to cool a little before serving and drizzle with the glaze and pistachios before serving... obviously, this would also taste incredible cold... if you can wait that long!

 

I first tried chocolate with a strong citrus flavor in Sicily this Winter, as the coating on traditional Christmas cookies there called "Toto", which I immediately fell in love with! So different and so good!

 

 And of course- nothing says Sicily louder, when it comes to sweet dishes, than pistachios... so they just had to be! And that added crunch is just the perfect finishing touch, too!

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