Easy to make in advance — the cooked pears can be chilled in the spiced red wine until just before serving.

Recipe: Lucy Corry  Photo and styling: Carolyn Robertson

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups red wine
2 oranges
⅔ cup lightly packed brown sugar
6 cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 small-medium pears
6 dried figs
crème fraîche, to serve

METHOD

Pour the wine into a large pot over medium heat. Thinly pare the zest from the oranges and add to the pot, then squeeze in the juice. Stir in the sugar and spices. Let the mixture come to a gentle simmer while peeling, halving and coring the pears (use the pointy end of a teaspoon to scoop out the cores).

When the syrup is simmering, add the pears and figs. Let them simmer gently for 20-30 minutes until the pears are tender but not mushy. The cooking time will depend on the pears’ ripeness — they should yield to a poke from a bamboo skewer or small knife. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Just before serving, arrange the pears and figs on plates. Heat the syrup to a simmer and let it bubble for 5 minutes before removing the cloves. Add a blob of crème fraîche to each plate, then pour over a generous amount of syrup. Decant any remaining syrup into a jug and serve at the table.

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