Dessert · Autumn / Winter
Roasted pear with cardamom and honey mascarpone
Warm-cold, sweet-salt, cardamom and honey. Simple, hits deep.
There's an old woman who lives three houses down from me in Coín. Carmen, ninety-one when I met her, ninety-three now. She has a pear tree in her garden that ought to be in a museum. Every September she leaves a paper bag of them on my front step without saying anything, like a small village courtesy from a century I missed.
The first year, I made them too fancy. Tuile baskets, gold leaf, the whole nonsense. The second year, I asked her what she did with them. She made a face that I will remember when I'm her age. 'Mantequilla, miel, cardamomo,' she said, and walked off.
This is her recipe with the mascarpone added on, because I wanted a cold note against the warm pear. I serve it on the small black bowls a potter in Mijas made for me. Carmen has never seen this version. She'd probably tell me to take the mascarpone off.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 2 people
- Difficulty
- 1 / 5
- Pair with
- Pedro Ximénez sweet sherry, in a small glass.
Ingredients
Pear
- 2firm pears, halved, cored
- 30 gbutter
- 2 tbsphoney
- 8 podscardamom, lightly crushed
- 1vanilla pod, split + pinch sea salt
Mascarpone
- 150 gcold mascarpone
- 50 mldouble cream
- 1 tbsphoney + seeds of ½ vanilla pod
Method
- 1
Oven to 180 °C. Melt butter and honey in an oven-proof pan. Drop in cardamom and vanilla. Let them perfume the fat for a minute.
- 2
Lay the pear halves cut-side down. Caramelise 3 minutes on the hob without moving.
- 3
Flip them, spoon the pan sauce over. Into the oven 15-18 minutes. Tender but holding their shape.
- 4
Whip the mascarpone with cream, honey and vanilla seeds to a thick quenelle texture. Stop early. Overdone splits.
- 5
Pear cut-side up. Quenelle of mascarpone next to it. Pour the warm caramel over. Pinch of sea salt to finish. Cardamom pods stay.
