255 g mascarpone
Method
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Score down the length of the
vanilla pod and remove the seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of
each half. Put the pears into a tight-fitting ovenproof pot or pan, add
the 125g of sugar, wine, vanilla pod and seeds, and the peel and juice
of 1 orange and bring to the boil. Sprinkle over half the walnuts and
then put in the oven to bake. Every so often, baste the pears with the
syrup they are cooking in, as this will give them a nice glaze. Cook for
around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness, until the pears are
tender but still holding their shape, then remove from the oven and
allow to cool while you roast the remaining walnuts on a baking tray in
the oven for 5 minutes – make sure you keep an eye on them as they can
quickly go from golden to black and you don't want burnt walnuts!
Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup. When the walnuts are done, either
whiz them in a food processor or bash them up with a pestle and mortar
until you have a paste. Whip up the mascarpone with the walnut paste,
the zest and juice of the other orange and enough sugar to sweeten, and
serve this cream with the baked pears, the nuts, some orange peel and
some of the cooking syrup.
