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Delicious and Beautiful: Colston Bassett Stilton with Port-Glazed Pears
November 24, 2006
This recipe is from Janet Fletcher’s lovely book, The Cheese Course (Chronicle Books, 2000), which offers many delicious ways to serve cheese. For this desert, pears rest in their Port poaching syrup and turn a rich garnet color. Serve them halved, sliced and fanned with some of the ruby syrup and a slice of Stilton alongside.
1 cup Warre’s Ruby Port
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
4 strips lemon zest
2 ripe but firm pears
1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 to 8 ounces Colston Bassett Stilton cheese
In a small saucepan, bring the Port, water, sugar, and lemon zest to boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. While the mixture heats, peel the pears. Add the pears to the simmering liquid, setting them on their sides. Cover with a round of parchment paper that just fits over the pears, tucking it around them. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Lift the parchment and turn the pears over in the liquid so they cook evenly. Re-cover and continue cooking until they are just tender when pierced, 10 to 12 more minutes. Remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
Transfer the pears with a slotted spoon to a refrigerator container. Simmer the poaching liquid over medium heat until reduced to ½ cup. Let cool completely, then add the lemon juice. Pour over pears, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Turn the pears in the syrup every couple of hours so they develop a deep burgundy color.
To serve, cut the pears in half lengthwise and core with a melon baler. Put each pear half on a cutting board, cut side down. Thinly slice lengthwise, leaving the slices attached at the stem end. Gently press on the pear to fan the slices. Put a generous tablespoon of Port syrup on each of 4 desert plates. With a metal spatula, transfer a pear fan to each plate, placing it over the sauce. Place a slice of Stilton on each plate.
Serves 4.
