BAKED PEARS WITH RED WINE AND WALNUT CREAM

Preheat the oven to 220c

Put the pears into a tight-fitting ovenproof pot or pan. Add the sugar, wine, vanilla bean paste and 1⁄2 the zest and juice of the oranges. Bring to the boil

Sprinkle over half the walnuts and place in the pre-heated oven to bake

Every so often baste the pears with the syrup they are cooking in to give them a nice glaze

Cook for around 20 to 30 minutes depending on the ripeness of the pears until they are tender but still holding their shape

Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Roast the remaining walnuts on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes, make sure you keep an eye on them as they can quickly burn. When the walnuts are done, bash them up with a pestle and mortar until you have a paste

In a medium sized bowl beat the mascarpone and caster sugar until soft and smooth. Add the walnut paste, the remaining zest and juice of the orange and enough sugar to sweeten and mix to combine

Serve this cream with the baked pears and nuts, drizzled with some of the cooking syrup