THE PERFECT PEAR COCKTAIL RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large, shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baller. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes, carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are all tender.
• Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

Steps:

• 1. Chop up all the fruit, discarding any stones.
  2. Place the fruit in a pan. If using rhubarb, peel the ginger and finely grate it into the pan. Add the sugar – I usually add 3 heaped teaspoons to rhubarb and 2 heaped teaspoons to any other fruit, but just taste as you go along and add more if you think it needs it (please be careful when tasting as it gets really hot). Add 2 tablespoons of water and cook on a medium heat with the lid on.
  3. Once the fruit has softened, remove the lid and let the liquid reduce – you want to end up with a fairly thick consistency.
  4. Serve over cereal, yoghurt, pancakes, granola, muesli or even with roast pork!