Last week - not the one that's just passed - a friend gave me a bag of green pears. Because of the day job, I couldn't "attack" them before Sunday.
Before Sunday dawned, I bumped into his parents who are visiting from the Netherlands. She warned me that most of them would be stung. I am glad she did. That meant that other than fresh eating, preserving those pears, whole, was out of the question.
I have long been wanting to try making the Onion and Pear Relish from a new recipe book. So I did.
Because of the amount of wastage in the pears - yes looks are very deceiving - it took me an age to peel and chop just over 500g (1lb) of useable pear for the preserve. The book says it pears pairs well with pork and, as it turned out, I had splashed out on some gammon (ham) steak, so I could try the finished product with my supper.
More of that in a bit.
Japanese squash
A couple of weeks ago, at the market, Cecil gave me the most beautiful little squash. It was pretty - and - new to me, and a bit of research on the interweb told me it was a Red Kuri: originally Japanese, with texture similar to butternut and a thin, edible skin. The flavour? Delicate, a bit like chestnuts, I read.
It wasn't difficult to prepare: unlike so many in the cucurbit family, it doesn't have a tough skin. I decided not to peel is, and to save the seeds. B&B might want to plant them. (I'm not keeping up with the garden - yet - we shall see). Apparently the seeds also make good eating.
I decided the Red Kuri would be part of supper, so I roasted it (just with a little olive oil) and served it with (B&B's) green beans and, of course, the ham.
How did my new things "eat"?
The pear and onion relish is very sweet and worked well with the very salty ham. It would also work very well with a strong, blue or camembert cheese.
The squash has a smooth texture and a delicate flavour, and yes, a little like chestnuts. Because it's not so sweet, it also worked well with the gammon and the relish, nicely complemented by the green beans.
Would I actually buy Red Kuri for myself? Yes. It's not a substitute for butternut: it's too different and not as sweet. It would be a great addition to roasted vegetables, and with other roasted vegetables is how I shall eat the rest of it.
Back to the pears and the relish
In a moment of madness, I thought I'd "attack" what was left of the pears, but when I reflected on how much of each the remaining pears I might actually be able to use, I ditched them. Literally. In the compost heap.
Will I make more relish? Yes. I also plan to do a taste test with friends (this is when I especially miss The Husband who was both my inspiration and guinea pig) because I do think it would benefit from mustard seeds to cut the sweetness. Just a little.
I shall report back. In due course.
Until next time
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:
- re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
- and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.
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- Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community.
Original artwork: @artywink
- lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on @hive.blog and Canva.