Russell Jeavons

Pears in wine saffron and orange

Ingredients

500ml of old white wine (Russelldoesn’t believe in using your best wine in cooking. So, yesterday's wine is fine)
500ml Seville orange juice
rind of 2 oranges
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon of good cinnamon (German or Dutch)
a couple of slices fresh ginger
generous pinch of saffron (Russell says that saffron gives a fantastic taste. It loves to be mixed with complexities, it gives guts to the other ingredients. A little can also be incorporated into the cake).
6 firm, ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into quarters ‚ Packham are best for this

Method

Combine all ingredients for poaching liquid, boil and cook pears for about 20 minutes depending on their ripeness.

The pears can sit happily in the liquid off the heat for days and mellow out. They are just beautiful and the flavour develops over time.

They can also be served with chocolate cake or crËme caramel.

Russell loves cooking with pears as they are a wonderful vehicle for other flavours.