EAT THE SEASONS – AUTUMN
Pears are in season from March to May in Australia and you know autumn is here and winter is on the way when pears appear in the supermarkets.
Buy your pears when they are firm and watch them ripen. Pears continue to ripen after you take them home.
For this recipe I bought Beurre Bosc or Bosc because they are sweet, buttery and firm. They are also great for cooking, particularly poaching.
I love the flavours and the contrast of the soft and warm clafouties with the cold vanilla ice-cream.
Ingredients for the Clafoutis
- 100g sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 eggs
- 250ml cream
- 70g almond meal
- 10g plain flour, sifted
Ingredients for the Poached Pears
- 200gram sugar
- 400ml water
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 4 ripe pears
Method for the Pears
- For the poached pears, stir the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in 400ml of water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Then add the pears and bring to the simmer.
- Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the pears are cooked (insert a knife and if it goes through the pears are done).
- Let the pears cool completely in the poaching liquid.
- Drain them and thinly slice them. Set aside until you are ready to use them.
Method for the Clafoutis
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- In a bowl gently whisk the sugar, yolks and eggs without creating any foam,
- Add cream and whisk to incorporate.
- Add almond meal and flour and whisk gently until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the mould.
- Arrange the sliced pears, overlapping them on the top of the batter.
- Bake for around 40 minutes until golden on top and still slightly wobbly in the centre.
- Dust with icing sugar.
- Serve your clafoutis warm with vanilla ice-cream.
Tips
- The pears can be made a day ahead.
- Clafoutis should always be served warm.
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