Pear And Ginger Saute With Iced Mascarpone
Recipes such as this, for puddings that can be made very quickly and are a little out of the ordinary (and, of course, delicious), are always useful to have. The pears with their ginger-spiked sauce are very good as they are, but the smooth richness of the iced mascarpone lifts the dish into a different class, melting deliciously on the pears and into the sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
4 FIRM BUT RIPE. PEARS
55 G/2 ()z UNSALTED BUTTER
1/2 Tsp GROUND GINGER
2 'CBS!' WALNUT HALVES,
ROUGHLY CHOPPED
TBSP SYRUP FROM THE JAR OF PRESERVED GINGER
2 TBsp DRY WHITE WINE, PREFERABLY MEDIUM-BODIED (OPTIONAL)
1 PIECE STEM GINGER, SLICED
LEMON JUICE
ICED MASCARPONE:
2 EGG YOLKS, SIZE 3
85 G/3 ON ICING SUGAR
225 G/8 OZ MASCARPONE CHEESE
FEW DROPS VANILLA ESSENCE
DIRECTIONS:
To make the iced mascarpone, beat the egg yolks with the icing sugar, then gradually whisk in the mascarpone. Flavour with a few drops of vanilla essence, then spoon into a freezer-proof container. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours. Return to the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Peel the pears, core and cut each one into quarters.
Heat the butter in a frying pan, stir in the ginger, then add the pears and walnuts and cook gently for about (5-8 minutes until the pears are tender; turn them over carefully after about 3 minutes. Stir in the syrup from the ginger jar and the wine, if liked, then allow to bubble until lightly syrupy. Stir in the stem ginger and add a little lemon juice, to 'lift'. Serve straight away with the Iced Mascarpone.
