Sweet, soft pears make a wonderful accompaniment to salty blue cheeses. Poach the fruit a good few hours in advance so you can make sure it is thoroughly chilled before serving
s much as I relish almost every detail of the Christmas feast, there are a handful of ingredients I hold especially dear: the rich, sweet preserve that is mincemeat; the glowing ruby seeds of the pomegranate and the sourness of the cranberry, which never fail to brighten anything in which they appear; and the soft, smoky notes of cured fish such as salmon and trout.
The crowning glory of any Christmas fruit bowl is a pile of pomegranates. Their copious scarlet juices require any preparation to be done in the kitchen, so I do all the peeling and breaking up of the flesh on the chopping board, then pile the clusters of seeds, like glistening jewels, on to a dish and send them into the dining room. They also serve to add bite to a rice or couscous salad. I often scatter them over a panna cotta, too, or use them to cover the creamy surface of a trifle.
Leave the pears to cook until they’re tender to the point of a knife – this can take 15-40 minutes depending on their ripeness. Check their progress regularly. They should be thoroughly soft but still retain their shape. Remove the skin from the smoked mackerel and break the flesh into large pieces, then put them in a bowl. Pour 3 tablespoons of the pickling liquor from the cucumber over the fish and set aside in a cool place.
Transfer the cakes to a baking tray or roasting tin, add a little more oil and bake for 25 minutes till they are golden and sizzling.
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