When I recall the pears of my childhood, I am invariably reminded of school dinners where tinned pears were served atop a pool of creamy semolina or rice pudding, or indeed on what seems to be everyone's pet hate, that delectable white 'frogspawn' otherwise known as TAPIOCA...personally I am rather fond of it...the way I make that is!As a child, at home for a Sunday luncheon we would occasionally have a tinned pear trifle and a bit of whipped 'Dream Topping' on top with those rainbow strands 100's and 1000's.....well it was the 1970's after all and kitsch reigned supreme along with the psychedelic geometric turquoise and burnt sienna wallpaper!
Then in the 1980's, on special Sundays, my mother would make my all time favourite dessert
'Baked Alaska'.....
Thick slices of raspberry jam swiss roll lightly moistened with the juice of the tinned fruit, topped with slabs of Walls raspberry ripple ice-cream that came in a block wrapped in cardboard, on top of the ice cream would be the tinned pears or sometimes fruit cocktail which also has pears in it, then she would encase the whole with a thick layer of the sweetest meringue....a blast in a very hot oven util the mass was golden brown all over and you have the most amazing concoction ever eaten.
I would be given what my child's eyes saw as a huge wedge where you could see the layers of sponge, fruit, and crisp, yet marshmallowy meringue.....the key to the perfect baked Alaska by the way, is that the oven must be hot enough to bronze the meringue so quickly as to not melt the ice cream!.....and the taste sensations?....between the soft, moist, jammy sponge, the crisp yet chew meringue and the freezing ice-cream......totally divine!
Where once upon a time the fresh pears would have either headed off to the canning factory or to the cider makers, the fresh pear is now popular and readily available on a daily basis with quite a few varieties gracing our supermarket shelves and market baskets with the William and Conference pears seen most often.
Pears are delicious when crisp and freshly picked from the tree although some people do prefer a pear that is very ripe and squishy.
This recipe is perfect for when you find punnets of pears on offer at an amazing 59c, usually the pears are firm if not rock hard, but that doesn't matter as we will be cooking them.
Chutneys can really be made from any fruit and as they are an accompaniment to savoury dishes, the addition of some spice works wonders.
I like to serve this chutney with anything that has cheese in it, from a blue cheese mousse to a cold quiche, to the delectable cheesy onion tart which you will find on my next blog post.
You will need........
500- 600g firm pears....the breed of pear is your choice, but the bigger they are the easier they are to peel!
1 large white onion
100g sultanas
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 heaped teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger or ground ginger
1 level teaspoon sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
100 g dark soft brown sugar
150 ml malt or red wine vinegar
100 mls boiling water
1 x sterilised jam jar or kilner jar (500ml size)
How to........
- place the sultanas in a bowl, pour on the boiling water and leave to steep until soft
- peel and finely dice the onion, place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons water, cover with a lid and cook gently until the onion has softened but remains pale and translucent
- peel, quarter and de-seed the pears, cut into small dice....don't worry about them going brown.
- take a deep saucepan and add the onion, the sultanas and the water they were soaked in, the spices and seasoning, the crushed garlic, brown sugar, vinegar and diced pears
- stir everything well together and heat gently while stirring until the sugar has dissolved
- turn the heat up and cook quite briskly but not boiling madly, until the pears are cooked and almost all the liquid has evaporated and you have that chunky chutney consistency.....don't forget to give it a stir now and then in case it would stick
- the cooking could take up to 30 minutes so be patient, we want the fruit etc. to be soft and a little moisture to remain
- have your jar already sterilised and warm ready to go!
- turn the heat off under the saucepan and transfer the chutney to your jar, cover securely immediately with a lid that is acid proof!
- allow to cool then label, date and store somewhere dark and cool
- once open, store in the refrigerator where it will keep for at least a week as long as it's not left out on the table too long!....best to serve what you need for that meal in a nice dish.
The given recipe is enough to fill one jar, but if you find you adore this recipe you can double, triple or quadruple it and make a big batch to stock your larder. Remember home made chutneys make great Christmas presents!....oh did I say the bold 'C' word...oh yes, we are now closer to the next Christmas than the last one....time to get planning those homemade pressies, this chutney keeps for months so you can make it any time now.
Feel free to substitute the pears for cooking apples and by the looks of our heavily laden trees, this year is going to be a bumper crop so we will be enjoying the fruits of our labours for many months to come.
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