Pears in perry

Serves 4

(Jason Lowe)

Matthew Fort made this dish on TV's Market Kitchen a few weeks back so, as promised Matthew, I'm nicking it here for this column. I'm not sure where he "borrowed" the idea from but it makes perfect sense to poach pears in their own alcohol, perry, and this makes a nice, simple, dinner-party dessert.

4 firm pears, peeled, with the stalks left on
500ml perry
4 cloves
A small piece of cinnamon stick
6 black peppercorns
2tbsp caster sugar
4tbsp clotted cream to serve

Put the pears, perry, spices and sugar in a saucepan and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper laid on top of the fruit inside the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the pears are soft and tender but not falling apart. Remove the greaseproof paper, and the pears from the liquid, then continue simmering the liquid until it has reduced by about two thirds and thickened. Return the pears to the liquid and leave to cool.

To serve, stand the pear up on a deep serving plate and spoon over a few spoonfuls of the thickened liquid and serve with clotted cream.