Ingredients:
3 oz. butter
1 c. brown sugar
5 cardamom pods, green
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
½ tsp coriander
1 x ½” piece thumbprint size ginger
3 pears, halved
2 puff pastry sheets, thawed and cut into rounds
Method:
Melt the butter in a sauté pan over high heat. Add the sugar and cook until the sugar melts and then caramelizes to an amber color, swirling the skillet if necessary for even browning. (Do not stir or sugar may crystallize.) Remove the pan from the heat. Put pears in the pan cut side up, cover the pan and return to the heat. Cook over medium-low heat until the pears are almost tender and have released their juices, 5 minutes. Remove the pears. Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium, add all spices and cook until the juices have reduced and are very thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes, remove as many seed spices as possible. Add the pears back to the pan cut side down and top with the pastry rounds. Brush the pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Lightly butter ramekins and slice the apples and pears and layer them around the outside of the ramekin and dice some apples and put them in the middle. Spoon some of the reduced sauce over the apples until they are covered. Now take the puff pastry sheets and roll out a little bit. Place a ceramic ramekin on the puff pastry sheet and cut around the bottom of the ramekin. Place the puff pastry round on top of the apple mixture tucking around the sides of the apples. Cut some slits in the puff pastry and bake on 400 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate.
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