Citrus crepe with caramelised baby pears and vanilla ice cream

Apr 4 2008 by Babette Decker, The Journal

(serves 2)

WE get baby pears in cans from our delicatessen supplier but you could use ordinary pears, peeled, cut into pieces and poached in a light sugar syrup until tender.

You could even add a few strawberries or other soft fruit towards the end of the caramelising stage. Also, the addition of a little vanilla essence or the inclusion of a vanilla pod in with the pears changes the dish again. It’s really up to you.

The aim is to get the crepes as thin as possible. You may even wish to thin the mixture by adding a few more drops of milk. An initial test crepe will tell you if you’ve got it right. A very thin crepe wouldn’t even need turning over and can be cooked from one side only, so you can ignore tossing them if the thought gives you nightmares!

One large free range egg

50gm plain flour

150ml milk

Butter

Eight tinned baby pears

Zest and juice of one lemon

Zest and juice of one orange

A handful of demerara sugar

Ice cream

Sieve the flour into a bowl and whisk in the egg. Add the milk gradually until a smooth mix is achieved.

Warm an omelette-sized pan and swirl a knob of butter around until the pan is coated. Pour around two tablespoons of batter into the pan and tip until it coats the bottom. After 30 seconds or so, lift the edge to see when it’s cooked and, if you wish, turn it over for a few seconds. Remove and repeat until the mixture is used up. You should be able to produce four. Keep them warm in the oven, separated by grease-proof paper to stop them sticking to each other.

In a separate frying pan melt the butter, add the pears and fry until slightly coloured. Add the lemon and orange zest and juice along with the sugar. Stir and allow to caramelise for a few minutes.

To serve, neatly fold each crepe and place two on each plate. Spoon over the caramelised pears with their juice, placing a scoop of ice cream alongside.

Recipes are taken from Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, out now and available in good bookshops for £12.95. For discounted copies contact us on (0191) 370-9595 or go to www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com