Poached Pear Salad with Whisky Caramel

Whisky Recipes - Perfect Pairings Part 3  

Our third and final Glen Scotia inspired dish from The Balmoral Hotel’s Executive chef, Gary Robinson concludes with a simple but breath-taking dessert.

Taken together with his especially curated starter and main meal, each dish showcases an indulgent seasonal flavour profile, with the Glen Scotia whisky enhancing each ingredient. Just like a Glen Scotia single malt whisky, they are best enjoyed in good company with a dram in hand. Watch the full video here.

Gary Robinson arrived at The Balmoral in June 2019 having travelled the world - gaining over 25 years of global culinary experience. In his own words: “I’m always excited to get into the kitchen and experiment, especially with a fine dram from Glen Scotia. I created these dishes with the vision that they are the perfect recipes to bring people together - not too complicated to recreate at home and each offers a really special meal for friends and family to come together, gather around a table and enjoy."

WHISKY RECIPE

Poached pear salad with lemon, orange and Whisky Caramel

Makes enough to fill a 1 litre jar 

INGREDIENTS:

• 750ml white wine
• 750ml white wine
• 125g golden caster sugar
• 8 small firm pears, peeled
• Peeled zest of 1 lemon
• Peeled zest of 1 orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 sprig of thyme and 1 of rosemary

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: 

Note:Pears are great for poaching at this time of the year but do take the time to make sure that the pears are completely cooked, or they will not keep well. Once the jar has been opened, the pears ought to be eaten within a few days.

1. Gently heat the wine and sugar in a tall saucepan to dissolve the sugar.
2. Peel the pears without removing the stalks and add to the poaching liquid along with the zests, cinnamon, cloves and herbs
3. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and poach the pears, turning them now and again, for 25-35 minutes, until tender. When tested with a small sharp knife, the pear should ideally not give any resistance.
4. Carefully transfer the pears to a sterilised jar and discard the thyme and rosemary.
5. Pour in enough poaching liquid to fill the jar, so that all the pears are immersed in syrup. Secure the lid tightly while the pears are warm and store in a dark, cool cupboard until needed”.

Makes 500g

INGREDIENTS:

• 100g butter
• 100g dark soft brown sugar
• 400g condensed milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
• 75ml double cream
• 60ml whisky
• 5g sea salt flakes

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Put the butter and sugar in a solid sturdy saucepan over a medium heat.
2. When melted, turn up the heat and bring to the boil for around 3-4 minutes until the butter and sugar combine into a smooth sauce.
3. Add the condensed milk and vanilla seeds and bring back to the boil, continuously whisking with a balloon whisk.
4. Continue to boil and whisk for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and turned a rich golden-brown colour.
5. Turn off the heat and whisk in the double cream until fully combined.
6. Stir in the whisky and sea salt.
7. Leave the sauce to cool for at least 10 minutes before pouring into sterilised jars and sealing