My friend Kit deserves big thanks for this one. Not only did she give me the recipe; she gave me the pears as well, fresh from her garden. This is an easy dessert to make, it doesn't take long and the result is delicious. Three good reasons for trying it. A four reason might be that you only need one glass of wine for the recipe and if you have to open a new bottle to get it….well, you might as well enjoy the rest with your meal.
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish type of biscuit, made from flour, sugar, butter and a little salt. You could try making it, but the shortbread that comes in packets works well and that's going to be the starting point for this recipe (remember the first two good reasons for doing the recipe). The biscuits come in all different shapes and it's up to you which ones you use. I'll imagine that we're feeding four people here and give the quantities accordingly. Depending on how hungry they are you could use one or two biscuits per person.
Ingredients
4 pears
4 or 8 shortbread biscuits
A large glass of dry red wine
Fresh cream (whipped or pouring cream)
Peel and chop the pears, discarding the cores. Simmer them in
the wine for about twenty minutes. Put a biscuit or two in the bottom of a small
bowl, spoon over some hot pears and a little cooking liquid and top with cream.
Serve immediately, and don't be surprised if your guests ask for second helpings.