Saffron pears
An autumnal recipe from Hilary Cacchio
Although local safran is readily available in tiny jars to us all year around, the meticulous daily harvesting by hand of the pistils usually starts mid October so in celebration of a few of autumn ingredients, including some pretty rosey pink skinned Williams pears from M Arnaudies’ Céret stall came the following recipe of Saffron Pears with Fig Labne.
Although Vallespir brebis yaourt is finished for the season, M Berenguel’s bio vache yaourt nature is still available on Amélie and St Laurent de Cerdans weekly market as is Le Mouly Benc’s chèvre yaourt and Cecille and Simon’s Yodaqui bio Camargue Rice Yaourt – so lots of local yaourts to use to make labne (pour the yaourt into a seive lined with kitchen roll sat over a bowl to catch the whey – fabulous to save to put in dough – and leave it to strain for 24-48 hrs to produce a lovely thick creamy labne). I used Mdme Nou’s Miel de Fleurs Sauvages de Montagne, a declicate flavoured honey that doesn’t over power.
Top tip: If you make the fig labne the day before, the sweet pink juice will leach into the labne giving a lovely pink hue.
- Large pinch saffron threads, lightly toasted and crushed to a powder between finger & thumb
- 2 pears with stalks, peel, spoon out the core from the base
- 60g your favourite local honey
- Water
- 100g Byrrh 1873 Rare Assemblage, any sweet red wine would be lovely
- 60g labne (see instructions above)
- 2 figs
Kit: a high sided pan that will snuggly fit both pears
Put the saffron, honey and pears into the pan and add enough water to cover the pears. Cover the pan and gently bring to a tremble, cook until the pears are soft about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the lid and leave to cool.
When cool remove the pears and reduce the cooking liquor by half, then pour in the Byrrh and continue to reduce until it is thick, sweet and syrupy around 150g remain.
Fig Labne: Finely dice the figs and stir into the labne.
To Serve: either warm or cool, sit the pears on some of the syrup and serve with a dollop of fig labne. As well as a simple, light dessert they are really nice as an autumn breakfast sliced into porridge with the syrup drizzled over and if you have been fortunate and have some new season hazelnuts from Reynes or a local tree.
Visit Hilary’s blog for a slightly more modern take on Catalan recipes, or order her book, Sourdough Suppers
