European · 45 min · Easy · 4 servings
Baked Pears with Berries and Miso Cashew Cream
Pears roasted in maple and thyme until the cut faces caramelize, served with berries and a cashew cream sharpened with white miso. The miso is doing what a blue cheese does here: salt and funk against sweet fruit, which is the whole reason that pairing works.
~430 cal per serving — Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.
Method
- 1
Roast the pears
⏱ 30 minHeat the oven to 190C (375F). Sit the pear halves cut side up in a tray, dot with the butter, spoon over most of the maple syrup, holding a little back for the cream and tuck the thyme sprigs between them. Roast until the cut faces are glossy and browning at the edges and a knife slides into the thickest part.
- 2
Blend the miso cream
⏱ 3 minDrain the soaked cashews and blend them with the miso, lemon juice, the remaining maple syrup and enough cold water to move the blades, scraping down twice, until completely smooth and pourable. Taste it: it should be savory first and sweet second.
- 3
Toast the walnuts
⏱ 4 minToast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking often, until they darken a shade and smell nutty. Tip them straight out of the pan so they stop cooking, and season them with a small pinch of salt while still warm.
- 4
Assemble warm
Spoon the cream onto plates and sit the warm pear halves on top, cut side up. Scatter the berries and walnuts over and around, and spoon any syrup left in the tray back over the fruit. Serve while the pears are still warm and the cream is cold.
Notes
White miso is doing the job of blue cheese: it brings salt and ferment against the sweet fruit, which is the axis the original pairing runs on. Do not swap it for a darker miso, which will overwhelm the pears. Firm pears matter, since ripe ones collapse into puree.