Classic French

Roasted pineapple

Name: Roasted pineapple
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1.5kg Pineapple, ripe and sweet, peeled and eyes removed. Reserve all the trimmings (not the skin); 150ml Vanilla syrup; 200g Caster sugar; 2 Lime zest; 1 Lemon zest; 1 Orange zest; 200g Caster sugar; 50g Unsalted butter; Trimmings from the pineapple; 200ml Water; 25ml Rum, dark; 8 slices Pineapple, from the base of the roasted pineapple (see above); 100ml Water; 15g Caster sugar; 750g Pineapple flesh, sweet, large. Peeled, cored and cut into 1cm pieces.; 110g Caster sugar; ½ Lime, juiced; 10 Mint leaves, roughly chopped

As the pineapple cooks it will intensify the flavour of the caramel

Prep 60 minsCook 120 minsServes 8

Most fruits are too fragile for grilling, but a grilled pineapple is a thing of beauty! The natural juices will come out from the fruit as it cooks and intensifies the flavour of the caramel, creating a delicious fruit coulis. It’s also a spectacular sight as it’s roasted whole – bring it to the table and carve off slices for your guests to create a real wow factor at a dinner party!

Ingredients

For roasting the pineapple:

1 1/2kgPineapple, ripe and sweet, peeled and eyes removed. Reserve all the trimmings (not the skin)
150mlVanilla syrup
200gCaster sugar
2Lime zest
1Lemon zest
1Orange zest

For the caramel sauce:

200gCaster sugar
50gUnsalted butter
Trimmings from the pineapple
200mlWater
25mlRum, dark

For the dried pineapple slices:

8 slicesPineapple, from the base of the roasted pineapple (see above)
100mlWater
15gCaster sugar

For the pineapple sorbet:

750gPineapple flesh, sweet, large. Peeled, cored and cut into 1cm pieces.
110gCaster sugar
1/2Lime, juiced

To Finish:

10Mint leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1
For roasting the pineapple: Preheat the oven to 170C. Slice 8 rounds of pineapple from the base no thicker than 1mm and reserve for the dried pineapple slices. Brush the prepared pineapple in the vanilla syrup and roll in the citrus sugar. Place upright in a small frying pan and roast in the oven for 2 hours, basting with half of the caramel sauce every 15 minutes. To finish, mix the chopped mint in the remaining citrus sugar and roll the roasted pineapple in this and leave to cool slightly before carving.
2
For the caramel sauce: In a small sauté pan on a medium heat, melt the caster sugar and cook to a golden caramel. Be careful - too much, and it will overpower the fruit. When the caramel reaches this stage, add the butter, which will stop the cooking of the caramel and also create an emulsion giving richness to the dish. De-glaze with the butter and trimmings from the pineapple, add the water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. After the pineapple has been roasting for 15 minutes, ladle over half of the caramel sauce and continue to baste every 15 minutes.
3
Drying the pineapple slices: Pre-heat the oven to the 100°C. Place the reserved slices of pineapple into a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice. In a small pan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and pour over the pineapple slices. Leave until they have cooled. Drain the syrup from the pineapple slices and place them next to one another on the two non-stick trays. Place both trays in the preheated oven and dry slowly for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the pineapples have dried completely. Check occasionally to make sure they do not darken. Remove the trays from the oven, and whilst still hot, use a palette knife to slide the pineapple slices off the trays, leave to cool, place in an airtight container cover and reserve.
4
Making the pineapple sorbet: Macerate all the ingredients together for 30 minutes. Puree in a blender and churn in an ice cream machine. Reserve in the freezer until needed.
5
To serve, cut the pineapple in half and portion in 8 equal pieces. Place to the left of the plate and garnish with the sorbet, dried slices and scatter around the cherries (if you are using them) and any remaining citrus sugar.

Chef's Tips

“
"You can buy some extremely bad vanilla syrups/essences, so make sure you buy authentic essence of vanilla and not a chemical mix. Every recipe in the world tells you to infuse a whole vanilla pod in milk, cream etc., then to be discarded and occasionally washed off and recycled as vanilla sugar. A good vanilla pod will cost you up to £2.50 each. I have found a much better way to use 100% of the pod. It is simple and keeps for as long as you want to as the sugar content will act as a preservative, store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Roughly chop together 6 large vanilla pods, removing the hard nib at one end and puree together with a warm sugar syrup (100ml water and 100g of caster sugar boiled together)." "You can prepare the sorbet and pineapple slices a day in advance."

Cooking is always an expression of care and generosity. Enjoy this dish.

Bon appétit!