Medium
4
By Tessa Kiros
Published 2004
This is my personal variation on a baklava; I love the way it looks. You can change or adapt the recipe — leave out the praline, serve pistachio or cinnamon ice cream instead, or biscuits instead of the filo if you want to simplify it. You could also poach plums or peaches instead of the pears. The filo can be baked beforehand (if it loses its crispness, just put it back in a hot oven for a couple of minutes). You’ll probably serve just one pear half per person so keep the rest in the fridge in their syrup for the next day.
To make the poached pears, put the sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and about
Butter or oil a flat baking tray. To make the praline, put the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Leave to melt for about 4 minutes, until it turns to caramel — don’t stir, but you can swirl the pan around a couple of times. Remove the caramel from the heat, taking care that it doesn’t burn, and stir in the nuts. Pour onto the tray and then leave until cold and set. Break up the pieces, then bash with a heavy mallet or pulse in a food processor until the praline is in coarse crumbs.
To serve, put one or two pear halves with the rose petals and a little syrup in a bowl. Add a scoop of ice cream, then two or three filo strips. Scatter with some praline, sprinkle with icing sugar and your extra rose petals and serve immediately.
© 2004 All rights reserved. Published by Murdoch Books.