In Praise Of … Pears

Each month we focus on seasonal fruit and vegetables with some recipes to inspire you. This month it is the turn of pears. Pears can be thick- or thin-skinned with juicy, sweet flesh that can be buttery or slightly granular in texture, depending on the variety. The main British-grown varieties are Doyenne du Comice, Conference and Concorde. Comice has a meltingly soft texture, while Conference is slightly more granular. Concorde, a cross of the two pears, is buttery-textured.

Air Fryer Apple, Pear and Raspberry Crumble

Preparation time less than 30 mins, Cooking time 10 to 30 mins, Serves 4

Ingredients

3 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced

4 bay leaves, lightly crushed

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 orange, grated zest and juice

150g fresh or frozen raspberries

Method

Preheat the air fryer to 180°C.

For the topping

40g rolled oats

60g plain flour

60g ground almonds

60g butter, cubed

Pinch of sea salt

6 amaretti biscuits, finely crushed

40g soft brown sugar

Put the apples, pears, bay leaves, sugar, orange zest and juice into a heatproof dish that fits into your air fryer, about 18cm/7in in diameter. Mix together, then air-fry for 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Remove and discard the bay leaves and stir through the raspberries.

To make the topping, put the oats, flour, ground almonds and butter into a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and rub together to incorporate the butter. Stir through the amaretti crumbs and sugar, then sprinkle this mixture over the fruit.

Cook in the air fryer for 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche, ice cream or custard.

Pear Tarte Tatin

Preparation time less than 30 mins, Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour, Serves 6

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

5–6 pears, firm , small and ripe, peeled, cored and halved lengthways

320g pack ready-rolled puff pastry, defrosted if frozen Icing sugar, to decorate, cream or ice cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.

Melt the butter and sugar slowly over a medium–high heat in an ovenproof frying pan. Stir constantly until it reaches a pale straw colour, making sure the mixture does not burn. Add the pears cut-side up – it is best to place the pears in a circle around the pan, with a few in the middle. Cook the pears in the sugar mixture, stirring very occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the sugar mixture turns amber.

Place the puff pastry over the top of the pan, tucking the edges around the rim of the pan. Use a sharp knife to poke a few air holes into the pastry. Bake in the oven for about 25–30 minutes or until the pastry is flaky and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before running a knife around the edges of the pastry to loosen it from the pan.

Take a large plate that completely covers the top of the pan and pop the plate on top of the pastry. Wearing oven gloves, hold the top of the plate and the bottom of the pan and firmly flip the tarte tatin onto the plate. Lift the pan away and the tarte should have come off cleanly onto the plate. If not, remove any stuck pears and place them back onto the tarte. Dust with some icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.

Jane O’Hagan

Moorlands Court

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Take Five To Stop Fraud

This month the information isn't about a specific scam but about some simple principles to follow to avoid becoming a victim of any kind of scam. Take Five is a national campaign that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from financial fraud. This includes email deception and telephone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.

Many people may already know the dos and don’ts of financial fraud and scams – that no-one should ever contact them out of the blue to ask for their full PIN or full password, or ever make them feel pressured into moving money to another account. The trouble is, in the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget this. After all, trusting people on their word is something everyone tends to do instinctively. If someone says they’re from your bank or a trusted organisation, why wouldn’t you believe them? Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment. Take Five urges you to stop and think and consider whether the situation is genuine. Stop and think if what you’re being told really makes sense. Stop and think to protect yourself and your money.

STOP: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

CHALLENGE: Could it be fake? It’s OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

PROTECT: Contact your bank immediately using the number on your bank card if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud online (www.actionfraud.police.uk) or on 0300 123 2040.

The information for this article was taken from the Take Five - To Stop Fraud website. Search "Take Five To Stop Fraud" for more information including a scam-savvy quiz.

If you're not sure whether something is a scam, you can talk to one of the trusted contacts in Meldreth:

Graham (01763) 260358 Linda (01763) 261405

Peter (01763) 260323 Tim (01763) 262801

You can contact Neighbourhood Watch by telephoning Graham on the above number or by emailing nhw.meldreth@btinternet.com.

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