The Irish Pear

Like the child bride of an arranged marriage, the Irish pear has its expectations pre-mapped, its consort already chosen. It seems the partner to a pear must be either    1. almond, 2. blue cheese, 3. walnuts or 4. cinnamon.

Irish Pears are in season now, John brought a box of them home from Clonmel, and, after consulting the books, I wondered was there a way to change their culinary destiny. Are there any other nuptial partners just right for a pear?

Two recipes offered promise: pears with saffron and pistachio, from Australia, and grilled pear, brushed with thyme and oil and partnered with chicken liver, which was inspired by a recipe from the Noma cookbook. Both, it turned out, were a match made in heaven.

Saffron Pears

This recipe was inspired by a compendium of Australian recipes from Stephanie Alexander.

2 cups water
2 cups white wine
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon top quality vanilla essence
half teaspoon saffron threads
8 pears
pistachios

Combine the water, wine and sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the vanilla essence and the saffron.
Skin the pears, cut in half and scoop out the core at their base. Place in the cooking liquid and cook on a low heat for one-and-a-half hours, by which time the pears will have turned a lovely shade of yellow and absorbed some of the delicious juices. Garnish with a sprinkle of pistachio nuts.

Grilled Pear and Chicken Liver Bruschetta

It has to be said that a sprinkling of grated blue cheese placed on top of these bruschetta, with the toasts put under the grill for a couple of minutes, does add a lovely touch of flavour.

1 pear
thyme leaves
olive oil
salt
8 slices country bread
1 clove garlic, smashed, but not diced
knob of butter
4 chicken livers, sliced lengthways and sprinkled with salt and pepper
grated blue cheese (optional)


Slice the pear in half (do not skin). Scoop out the core at the base, and then cut the pear, thinly into slices. Put a handful of thyme leaves into a bowl and sprinkle over some olive oil. Use this oil to brush the pears, salting the fruit at the same time.
Grill the pear slices on a blazing hot grill pan, or under the grill. Remove and set aside while you prepare the bruschetta.
Grill the bread, and when it is cooked, rub each slice with the piece of garlic. Heat a knob of butter in a hot frying pan, and add the liver. Cook for only a couple of minutes, until the liver is just cooked.
Sprinkle a little more olive oil the the bread, place the liver on top, and top with the pears and a few salvaged sprigs of thyme.
If you fancy the flavour, top with a little grated blue cheese, grill for another minutes then serve immediately.