Chilli Poached Pears - A Random Recipe

Not often I say this but I miss Summer. Not the heat and the muggy sleepless nights. What I miss is the light.

Daylight from long before you awaken, all the way until just an hour or so before you head to bed. Currently I get up in the dark, go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. This makes writing a blog fairly tricky, especially if all you have is a slightly dodgy phone camera and an abundance of light bulbs that suck the joy and life out of everything I try and take a picture of and I really dislike blogging with no or bad pictures.

I may have to get some sort of lightbox or hibernate until spring.
Anyhoo, it's another month and even though I've been absent I had to make a return for Dom's Random Recipes as it is one blogger challenge that pains me to miss so I have had to make this recipe at work, in order to get a decent picture, good job I work in a kitchen.

The book I randomly chose is Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking and the random page number selected is... *drum roll* 278!!

Well this recipe is nothing sort of superb, stunning flavours from the Star Anise combined with the saffron and chilli to give a deliciously sticky sauce that smacks you round the face with chilli heat before being washed away by the juicy sweet pear. I'm considering making this for Christmas dinner due to its ease and glorious flavour.

Chilli Poached Pears
Ingredients
125g Caster Sugar
1 red chilli, halved lengthways
Pinch of saffron (optional)
2 whole star anise
4 conference pears, peeled

Dust
4 star anise
1 tsp ground ginger

Method
Slice a little bit off the bottom of the pear so it can stand up right.
Place the sugar, chilli, saffron and the star anise into a pan large enough for the pears. Add 500ml of water. Place over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved then add the pears.
Simmer gently for 10 mins until the pears are soft but still holding their shape.
Make the dust by grinding the star anise with a pestle and mortar and then mix in the ginger.
Remove the pears and reduce the liquor for 10-15 minutes until syrupy.
Serve either warm or cold with the syrup poured over the pears and sprinkled with the dust.

Enjoy