Tongue-tingling rhubarb and sweet fragrant pears are always a heady combination, and the Christmassy notes from the spices means there’s a whole lot to love in a bowl of this compote
Ingredients
• 400g rhubarb, cut into 6-cm pieces, sliced lengthways if very thick
• 4 ripe but firm conference or bartlett pears
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 120g caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 star anise
To serve:
• greek yoghurt
• 4 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2 Place the rhubarb in a 30 x 20 x 5-cm roasting tray. Peel, core and chop the pears into pieces the length and width of your index finger. Add them to the tray as you go, tossing with a little lemon juice to prevent discolouration.
3 Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and add the spices to the tray. Toss to combine well, then cover tightly with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the foil; the fruit should be very tender but if not, return to the oven, uncovered, for a further 5 minutes or so.
4 Serve the compote and the tray juices with a spoonful of yoghurt and the hazelnuts sprinkled over the top.
Recipe and image credited to Sue Quinn, extracted from Roasting Tray Magic. Copyright Quadrille Publishing
