Recipe: Poached pears with ricotta

Ingredients

310ml dry white wine
175ml castor sugar
1 vanilla bean, split length-ways or 5ml vanilla essence
2 strips of orange peel
4 firm pears, peeled (cored if required)
200g low fat ricotta cheese, drained
100g Peppadew Piquanté Peppers, drained and finely chopped
80ml honey
⅓ cup pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
250ml water

Method

1. Mix the wine, sugar, vanilla bean, orange peel and water in a heavy-based saucepan and stir over a low heat until sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, boil for 5 minutes.

2. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes or until pears are soft.

3. Remove from the heat and allow pears to cool in the liquid. Remove from liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the liquid.

4. Blend the ricotta cheese and the peppers with 30ml of the poaching liquid in a food processor until smooth.

5. Spoon the ricotta mixture into 4 bowls topped with pears, and drizzle with honey.

6. Serve immediately sprinkled with pistachio nuts.

Recipe supplied by Peppadew

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