Apples and pears
The South African sunshine produces wonderfully juicy top fruit, so I can’t wait to try Rosemarie and Flamingo blush pears, South African specialities which get their names from the rosy tinge on their golden skins, and are known for their meltingly soft, sweet flesh. They’re among the first crop of top fruit from Waitrose Foundation farms, along with crisp Royal Gala apples. There’s just time to catch the last home-grown eating apples too: crunchy, full-flavoured Cox’s.
Delicious ideas to try...
- Halve and core ripe pears, and fill the centre with a scoop of creamy Stilton. Grill to melt the cheese and serve on a bed of green salad.
- Dice Gala apples, unpeeled, and toss with chunks of cold chicken, sliced fennel and walnut halves. Mix with mayonnaise, lightened with natural yogurt if you like, and serve over crisp lettuce.
- Roll out a square of puff pastry, and score all the way round, 3cm from the outside edge, so the edges will puff up in the oven to form a case. Sprinkle the large, inner square with ground almonds, and a little orange juice. Slice apples, leaving the skin on, and arrange in rows on the pastry. Bake at 200°C, gas mark 6 for 25 minutes.
- Slice parsnips and apples, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped fresh sage. Roast for 40 minutes at 200°C, gas mark 6 and serve with roast pork.
- Poach pears in white wine with slices of fresh ginger and a vanilla pod, until tender. Serve with crème fraîche mixed with chopped preserved ginger, and a drizzle of syrup from the ginger jar.