Broiled Summer Fruit with Anise-Honey Butter Recipe
From:
Field Guide to Herbs & Spices
, by
Aliza Green
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Makes:
4 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 pound softened unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon ground anise seed
- 1/4 cup honey
- The inner scrapings of 1 split vanilla bean
- An assortment of summer fruit, including quartered figs; sliced peaches, plums, and apricots; pitted and halved cherries; diced mango and papaya; sliced red bananas; halved strawberries; and whole raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine butter, anise seed, honey, and vanilla bean in a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy; set aside.
- Prepare an assortment of summer fruit, including quartered figs; sliced peaches, plums, and apricots; pitted and halved cherries; diced mango and papaya; sliced red bananas; halved strawberries; and whole raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
- Preheat the broiler. Spread the fruit out on a metal baking pan. Spoon bits of the butter mixture over, using about half of the butter. (Refrigerate the remainder for another use.) Broil the fruit for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and browned. Serve with pound cake, angel food cake, shortbread cookies, or vanilla ice cream.
Beverage pairing: Casta Diva Cosecha Miel Moscatel, Spain. It’s rare to see great dessert wine from Spain (besides sherry), but this wonderful Muscat is a great match for mixed fruit as it has a tutti frutti quality itself, merged with honey, spice, and earth. A complex companion to a complex dessert.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
This was fantastic with quartered figs, pluots and nectarines. The pluts were the mottled variety and they turned that stained glass red color that some plums turn when cooked.
I used half the amount of butter and honey, and it was just the right amount for one jelly roll pan (covered with foil to help clean-up. I used 2 tsp. aniseed and a small vanilla bean. I was skeptical about this spice combo, biut it was sensational. The fruit and syrup were heavenly spooned over lemon gelato (I used the local Bay area variety Massimo).
Incredible flavor for minimal work!