Recipe: Pineapple with basil lime sugar

Pineapple with basil lime sugar. Photo / Kieran Scott

There are a few interesting dishes that people will never forget. This is one of them - the combination of pineapple and basil may sound unusual, but boy does it work! Caramelising the pineapple brings out its juices and natural sweetness, and together with the sweet fragrant basil sugar and a squeeze of tangy lime, it is absolutely divine, yet incredibly simple - this will become one of your favourite simple desserts.

Serves 6

1 whole ripe pineapple
small knob of butter
handful basil leaves
zest of 2 limes
½ cup white sugar
thick Greek yoghurt or vanilla
ice-cream to serve
lime wedges to serve

1 Remove skin from pineapple, cut into 1cm slices and cut slices in half.

2 Melt butter in a large frypan. When it starts to bubble and turn brown, add pineapple slices. Fry for 2 minutes on each side to caramelise. You may need to cook pineapple in two batches.

3 Bash basil, lime zest and a little sugar to a paste with a mortar and pestle, then mix in the remaining sugar with a spoon. Alternatively, blitz basil with lime zest and sugar in a food processor until very finely chopped (you may need to shake the blender to make sure everything completely mixes together).

4 To serve, lay 3-4 slices cooked pineapple on a plate, sprinkle over a few teaspoons of basil sugar. Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or scoop of ice-cream and a lime wedge to squeeze over the dessert.