By Rebecca Vincent.
This time of year has me craving something sweet, and this dish using the beautiful plums and pears available from greengrocers at the moment really hits the spot! They are lovely to enjoy raw but always feel extra special when I take the time to cook them.
Pears are a good source of vitamins C, B2, E, copper, potassium and fibre. They contain soluble and insoluble fibres, including pectin which is recognised as a prebiotic that feeds the good bacteria in our guts. Pears contain more pectin than apples which are typically considered a rich source.
Plums are a very good source of vitamins C, B1, B2 and B6, fibre and polyphenols such as neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. There are a wide variety of plums with colours ranging from the most commonly thought of purple-red right through to green-yellow, and these different colours can offer us different beneficial polyphenols which have anti-oxidant properties and many other benefits.
Roasted pears and plums with a vanilla mint yogurt
(Serves 4)
4 plums
4 pears
½ cup plain live yoghurt
4-5 mint leaves
½ tsp vanilla extract (or ¼ tsp vanilla powder)
Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
Halve the plums and remove the stones. Halve the pears lengthways, or quarter if they are a lot larger than the plums, remove the core and stem.
Place the fruit cut side up in an oven-proof dish and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes until just tender – not mushy!
While the fruit is in the oven, finely slice the mint leaves, stir into the yoghurt with the vanilla, and set aside.
When you take the fruit out of the oven, allow it to cool for a couple of minutes, then divide into bowls and spoon over some yoghurt. I love using fresh mint in sweet and savoury dishes but know that to some this combination might sound a little odd – it works especially well with stone fruit, so I urge you to try it at least once!
Rebecca Vincent BSc (Hons)
BANT-registered nutritionist
07515 019430; www.rebeccavincentnutrition.co.uk