Delicately pink and full of spicey floral flavours, these pears are a beautiful and delicious way to celebrate seasonal Autumn produce. They are delicious served on their own smothered in syrup or to be truly decadent try wrapping them in home-made buttery puff pastry. So good served with fresh cream and sprinkled with toasted nuts such as pistachio and walnut with a little salt. 

Equipment

• 1 large deep saucepan for poaching
  
• Baking paper to make a cartouche
  
• One baking tray
  
• Rolling pin 
  
• Kenton salt mill 
  

Makes six pastry wrapped pears with extra pastry. 

Ingredients

Rose spiced poached pears

• 6 firm pears. I recommend Beurre Bosc
  
• 300g sugar
  
• 350ml Rose’
  
• 350ml water
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or a split vanilla bean pod)
  
• 3 large pieces lemon rind
  
• 10 cardamom pods
  
• 1 stick cinnamon
  
• 6 peppercorns
  
• ¼ cup frozen raspberries
  
• 1 tablespoon rosewater

 
Rough Puff pastry

• 500g cold unsalted cultured butter
• 500g plain flour
  
• 225ml iced water
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Egg wash

• 1 egg
  
• 1 tablespoon milk

To finish

• 50 g pistachio nuts – toasted and chopped
  
• ¼ cup  honey
  
• Extra Salt flakes 
  
• Fresh cream for dolloping

Method

Start the day before serving

To poach the pears:

1.    In a saucepan heat the sugar, wine and water until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is close to boiling. 
2.    Peel the pears leaving the stem intact and trim the base to allow them to stand upright
3.    Lower in the pears into the poaching liquid, then add the remaining ingredients ensuring they are dunked under the liquid.
4.    Make a cartouche out of baking paper. (by cutting a circle of paper the size of the pan with a hole in the centre for steam to escape) Place it over the pears so that they remain submerged. 
5.    Simmer gently for around 30-60 minutes or until the pears are tender in the centre when tested with a small knife. Note that less ripe or larger pears will take longer to cook and small or very ripe pears will cook more quickly so keep simmering and testing until done.
6.    Allow to cool in the liquid and refrigerate, covered overnight

To make the rough puff pastry:

1.    Cut the cold butter into 1cm cubes and add to the flour in a large mixing bowl. 
2.    Add the sea salt
3.    Chop the butter into the flour using a pastry scraper until it resembles the size of large peas  (this can also be done on a clean cool bench)
4.    Combine the water and lemon juice and add to the flour/butter mixture mixing it with a spoon until there are no dry bits and is has started to stick together. 
5.    Gather the mixture and press together gently with your hands to form a cohesive ball. 
6.    Pat into a flat square then roll the dough on a floured bench into a roughly 20 x 60 cm rectangle.
7.    Fold the two short ends toward the middle, then fold again so you have four layers.
8.    Wrap in cling film or baking paper and chill for 30 minutes.
9.    With the short end facing you and the seam to the right, roll the pastry out again into a large rectangle. Use the scraper and tap the edges to even them out as you roll. Keep the bench floured beneath by lifting and dusting when the dough starts to stick. Dust off any excess flour prior to folding. 
10.    Fold again into four and chill for another 30 minutes.
11.    Repeat the process once more and chill the dough for an hour or overnight, keeping it well wrapped. 

For the pastry wrapped pears: 
1.    Remove the pears from the poaching syrup and drain on some paper towel to dry a little. 
2.    Sieve the syrup and bring it back to boil to reduce until rich and thickened. (but be careful not to caramelize it) . Allow to cool.
3.    Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and milk and set aside. 
4.    Cut the pastry in half and wrap the remainder, keeping it chilled. 
5.    Roll onto a floured bench to a thickness of around 3mm
6.    Cut six small rounds of pastry to sit under the pears and then cut the remaining into long strips around 2cm wide.
7.    Place a pear on each round, then wrap overlapping strips from the bottom to the top of the pear. Secure with egg wash if needed. 
8.    Place spaced onto a greased baking tray. 
9.    Use pastry scraps to create leaves, and decorate each pear, securing with egg wash. 
10.    Brush the whole pear with egg wash and bake at 200 deg C for 20-30 minutes or until golden and puffed. 

Drizzle the hot pears with a little honey and sprinkle with toasted pistachios and sea salt flakes

Serve immediately with  poaching syrup and cream

Tips

• Use a deep saucepan big enough to snuggly hold the pears standing upright or with a slightly lean to keep them submerged.
  
• Take care not to overcook the pears , they want to be just cooked to the centre. 
  
• For a quicker dessert – use a good ready-made butter puff pastry