Pear And Redcurrant Compote Recipe | Fruit Desserts

#Here is a wonderful fruit dessert recipe. Here pears and redcurrants are flavoured with vanilla and creme de cassis, topped with almonds, and served with cassis-spiked Chantilly cream. For poaching, choose fruit that is juicy and ripe, yet firm; very ripe fruit tends to break up when poached. If you cannot find creme de cassis, substitute blackcurrant syrup.#

Prepare the Pears and Redcurrants: Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact. Cut one of the lemons in half and rub lemon juice all over the pears to prevent discoloration.

Working from the bottom, scoop out the pips and fibrous core from each pear with the vegetable peeler. TAKE CARE: Do not break pears open when coring.

Pick over the redcurrants and pull them from the stalks with the tines of the fork. “Fork tines exert light, deft pressure” #Poach the Pears and Redcurrants# Pare the zest from the second lemon and squeeze the juice from it CombinePare the zest from the second lemon and squeeze the juice from it Combine the lemon zest and juice, sugar, water, and split-open vanilla pod, if using, in the saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. “Choose deep saucepan so fruit will be immersed in syrup “

Bring the poaching liquid to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the whole pears. “The fruit should be completely covered by syrup, so if necessary, add more water to cover.”

Cover the fruit with a round of parchment paper and set the heatproof plate on top to weigh them down. Simmer gently over low heat until the pears are almost tender, about 15-25 minutes depending on ripeness. TAKE CARE: Do not let the liquid boil or the outside of the pears will disintegrate before the inside is cooked. “Test pears are tender with tip of small sharp knife”

Add the redcurrants to the pears, return the saucepan to the heat, and continue poaching until the pears are just tender, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and test the pears are tender with the tip of the small knife. “Be sure all stalks have been removed from redcurrants”

Let the fruit cool in the poaching liquid, then transfer both the pears and the redcurrants to a glass serving bowl using the slotted spoon.

Boil the poaching liquid until it forms a fairly thick syrup and is reduced by about half, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the crème de cassis with the vanilla essence, if using.

Let the syrup cool, then strain it and pour it over the pears and redcurrants. Cover the compote and chill while toasting the flaked almonds and making the cassis Chantilly cream. #Toast the Almonds; Make Chantilly Cream#

Heat the oven to 180° C (350° F, Gas 4). Toast the almonds until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. “Stir nuts occasionally so they brown evenly” TAKE CARE: Make sure the nuts do not bum or they will be bitter.

To make the Chantilly cream, pour the cream into a chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and crème de cassis and continue whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. #TO SERVE#

Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the fruit. Serve the cassis Chantilly cream in a separate bowl. “Toasted flaked almonds give crunchy texture contrast”