Recipes of the week

Ingredients:

For the pear treacle:

Method:

Place the oats in a dry pan and cook gently until golden, be careful not to burn. Add the milk and cook. This part is where you can choose your consistency. If you like a wetter porridge, try adding a little more milk or water to soften.

While the oats are cooking, place half the chopped Packham pears, the treacle, the water, salt and spices into a small pan and cook until nearly all the water has been cooked out and the pears have softened slightly. Then add in the rest of the chopped pears and stir all together.

To serve, place the cooked oats into a shallow bowl, pour the cream in the middle and then spoon the pears over the top.

Easiest Pear Cake Ever

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.

In a pan on medium heat, place the oil and pears and cook until colour has started to appear on the pears. Add the spice mix and cook for an extra 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let sit.

For the cake mixture: mix together the plain flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and caster sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the soy milk, oil and vinegar.

Combine the wet into the dry and mix together. Add in three-quarters of the cooked spiced pears.

Pour the cake mix into either a 9-inch cake tin that has been buttered and lined with baking paper, or into a lined rectangular tin.

With the remaining spiced pears, set them on top of the cake — and feel free to add some fresh pears, chopped for a little contrast. Cook for 25 minutes.

Tip: This cake will keep for a week.

Pear, Fennel, Herbs and Poppy Seed Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

Method:

Place the fennel in a bowl with the kale or leafy greens.

Add the pears to either a griddle pan or on a barbecue — or if you have neither, a normal pan will work. Rub the pears with a little oil and place on a smoking hot surface for 20 seconds on each side or when you see some char marks on the surface. Turn the pears to the other cut side and do the same. Remove and let cool.

Make the dressing by whisking together the lemon, yoghurt, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add your selection of chopped herbs and the poppy seeds and mix to combine.

Pour the dressing over the fennel and greens and toss. Place on a plate, top with the grilled pears and sprinkle with olive oil one more time.

Sweet and Sour Pears on Creamy Ricotta and Toast

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pear agrodolce:

Method:

In a pan, heat the vinegar and olive oil and smoked paprika together so they are warm. Pour into a bowl with the ricotta. Once cool, add the chopped dill and cubed pears and mix all together.

Smear the ricotta smoothly over the warm sourdough. On top of the toast, add the sliced pears and then gently pour the pear agrodolce over the top.

Pear ‘Weis’ Bowl

Serves as many as you like

Ingredients:

Method:

Scoop as much ice-cream as you want into a bowl

Using a microplane grater, grate over the top as much as you like of the iced pear. Simon Toohey normally adds one-third of a pear to his ice-cream.

Then pour over a little syrup of your choosing.