GILL MELLER’S CIDER-POACHED PEARS WITH OAT CRUMBLE AND VANILLA CUSTARD

Pears are in season here in the UK from late summer but because they store so well, you’ll find them right through to Christmas. We love poaching them, and in Gill’s recipe they’re gently simmered in cider, sweetened with brown sugar and flavoured with lemon and sage leaves. It may sound unusual to use sage in a sweet context like this, but it works so beautifully. You can either save the poaching liquor for another time or reduce it down to make a rich syrup to serve alongside the pears.

Preparation time 25 minutes | Cook time 45-60 minutes, plus cooling and chilling | Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

For the pears

6 pears, peeled

100g light soft brown sugar

Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3 to 4 sage leaves, torn

500ml medium-dry cider or perry

For the oat crumble

100g plain flour

Pinch of fine sea salt

100g butter, cubed and chilled

75g golden caster sugar

75g rolled oats

For the vanilla custard

300ml whole milk

200ml double cream

1 vanilla pod

4 large Stonegate Estate Organic egg yolks

100g caster sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

METHOD

  1. Start with the custard. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds into the milk. Add the pod too. Heat the mixture to just below boiling, then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl, then gradually add the warm milk and cream, whisking as you go. Return everything to a clean pan and cook gently, stirring all the time, until the custard thickens. Don’t let it boil. Strain into a bowl or jug and cover the surface to stop a skin forming. Leave to cool, then chill.
  3. To make the oat crumble, heat the oven to 175°C/155°C fan. Put the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips, then add the sugar and oats and mix everything together, squeezing some of the mixture into small clumps.
  4. Tip the crumble onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and spread it out evenly. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, turning it a couple of times, until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
  5. Arrange the pears as snugly as you can in the base of a saucepan. Add the sugar, lemon juice and zest, sage and cider or perry. The pears should be more or less covered by the liquid. If they’re not, add a splash of water.
  6. Set the pan over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook the pears for 10 to 25 minutes, depending on their ripeness, turning them occasionally if necessary. They’re ready when the tip of a knife slides easily into the flesh.
  7. Lift the pears onto a plate. You can strain and save the cooking liquor for another time, or return it to a clean pan and simmer until it has reduced by about two thirds and become glossy and lightly syrupy.
  8. Serve the pears with a spoonful of cold vanilla custard and a generous scattering of oat crumble.
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