Sliced pears with pear compote, goats curd and Biscoff hazelnut crumb

I’m becoming quite self-aware of my obsession with goats curd, as I’ve now moved onto sneaking it into desserts. I’ve tried my hand at making three soft curd ‘cheeses’ this year, labneh, ricotta and goats curd. Yes, there probably are alternatives you can buy but I find there’s something rewarding from the process of making it from start to finish (the following quote from Peep Show always sprigs to mind: ‘Jesus, Mark. Jamie Oliver and Sainsbury's make the food, we eat the food.’)

Internal monologue over, here’s a dessert recipe you might want to make over Christmas, a real palate cleanser to cut between all the rich food and it can be gladly made ahead of time. The quantity of compote exceeds the amount required for the recipe as it is best made in batches; the leftovers make a great accompaniment to granola and porridge.

| Serves 4 |

INGREDIENTS
500g Comice pears (chopped and peeled weight) plus 2 more whole pears for serving

75g demerara sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods, bruised with the back of a knife

50g goats curd, see here for recipe

4 Biscoff biscuits

Handful of hazelnuts

Sprig of mint

METHOD
Peel and core all but two of the pears and dice into 2cm cubes. Place in a saucepan with the lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until softened.  Taste the compote and if needed, add more lemon juice or sugar to taste. Discard the cardamom and cinnamon stick and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.

In a pestle and mortar or in a bag with a rolling pin, bash both the hazelnuts and Biscoff biscuits until they are a crumbly consistency.

When serving, spread the compote on the base of your dessert bowl. Core the pear and cut into thin slices and fan out on top of the compote. Finish with a dollop of the goats curd, and scatter over the Biscoff nut crumb and a few mint leaves.