Grappa poached pears

If like me, a bottle of grappa lurks in your cupboard, dust it off and poach some seasonal fruit. Pears matched with soft blue cheese and prosciutto makes a delightfully refreshing starter. See if your guests can detect the flavour.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups	Grappa (Main)
¼ cup	Sugar
2 Tbsp	Lemon juice
5 whole	Cloves
4	Pears, peeled, cored and halved (Main)
8 slices	Prosciutto, halved lengthways
150 g	Blue cheese, soft
1 handful	Mint, shredded, to garnish

Directions

1. In a large pan, warm the grappa, sugar, lemon juice and cloves. Bring to a simmer and add the pear halves. Cover with a piece of wet baking paper if they are sticking out of the liquid. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, turning for even cooking until soft when poked with a small knife. Allow to cool in the liquid.

2. When ready to serve, place the pearson a plate. Top with prosciutto and blue cheese. Drizzle a little juice from the cooking. Garnish with a sprinkle of mint.

See more of Angela's recipes featuring your favourite tipples

• Boozy ganache whiskey cake
• Gin sauteed broccolini