Orange sweetened ricotta
250g ricotta
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp icing sugar
Pinch of salt
Method
In a mixing bowl mix all ingredients together and season to taste.
If you have a bit of a sweet tooth add another teaspoon of icing sugar. Put aside in the fridge until ready to plate up the dessert.
Poached pears in mulled apple juice:
1lt apple juice
4 whole pears and their peelings
5 juniper berries
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
2 tbs honey
3 peelings of orange with the white pith removed as it can be very bitter
5 black pepper corns
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
Pinch of salt
Method:
Begin by peeling your pears into the saucepan you will be poaching them in. Pear skins and apple skins hold plenty of flavour when poaching or infusing.
Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a gentile simmer with a lid on and cook until tender. This can take up to 1 to 2 hours depending on how ripe your pears are.
When the pears are soft but still holding their shape gently take them out using a slotted spoon and place them on a plate to cool down and rest.
Strain the poaching liquid through a fine sieve into a new pot to collect all that mulled apple goodness.
If you are feeling up to it spike it with a splash of whisky this makes a perfect festive drink while you’re cooking.
Cinnamon balsamic glaze:
100g balsamic vinegar
100g caster sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
Method:
In a small saucepan bring all ingredients to a very gentile simmer, trying never to boil it as the vinegar can go bitter.
Gently simmer until the mixture coats the back of a spoon and feels sticky to touch. Turn off the heat and let it cool down for later.
You can make any flavoured vinegar glazes with this method.
Honey candied walnuts
100g walnuts
1 big table spoon honey
Good pinch of salt
Method:
Pre heat a fry pan to a medium high heat and add all the ingredients stirring the nuts to avoid any burning.
As the nuts start to brown and the honey starts to caramelize take them off the heat and pour them out on some non stick parchment paper to cool down. Do not touch them as they are very hot.
They will harden up as they cool down.
Candied orange zest
2 oranges
200g sugar
200g water
Method:
Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, peel wide strips of zest and then use a knife to slice into thin strips.
Boil zest a couple of minutes. Drain, repeat this 3 times.
This gets rid of all the bitterness found in the zest. Then set blanched zest aside.
Put sugar and water in pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add blanched orange zest, cover, and simmer 5 minutes.
After that it should look glazed and slightly sticky. Leave to cool.
To assemble the plate:
Spoon the sweetened ricotta in the centre of the plate and then drizzle some of that cinnamon balsamic glaze over it.
Cut your poached pears into quarters and remove the seeds and hard woody centre. Then place them on the ricotta.
Season that with the walnuts and candied orange zests. If you have some thyme scatter some fresh leaves to really bring the dish together.
Enjoy with your mulled apple. Bon app!
Matt Gojevic is the inspiration behind Matty G Cooks.
