Spiced Poached Pears

A simple recipe with zero fat!

Peel 6 firm pears.

In a pan add a bottle of red wine, 4 oz caster sugar, 1 Star Anise, a couple of cloves, a stick of cinnamon and a couple of dashes of Vanilla Extract.

Heat until the sugar is dissolved then add the pears simmering gently until tender (keep turning them). This should take about 20-30 mins depending on the ripeness of the pears.

Remove pears from pan.

Boil red wine mixture until reduced by half.

Serve over the pears.

Simple and delicious.........

Venison & Rhubarb

I took the plunge and gave it a whirl and surprise, surprise - it worked!

Firstly prepared Rosti, grated parboiled potatoes in with some onion and salt & pepper and put in individual molds. These were then pan-fried in butter until crisp.

The venison was rump, these were rubbed in olive oil and seasoned then on a very high heat cooked in a non-stick pan for about 8 mins, then into the oven at about 150 for a further 8 mins, taken out and rested for about 5 mins.

The rhubarb was gently poached in water with a touch of sugar. It was then pureed.

In the pan the venison was cooked in we deglazed with some red wine and some of the Rhubarb liquor.

Venison then sliced and served on top of the Rosti, drizzled with the wine reduction and the Rhubarb served on the side.

Really enjoyed it!

I also think that the Rhubarb would be good spiced............. What do you think?