120g australian floral or yellow box honey (approximately 3 tablespoons)
2 cups water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 good pinch saffron threads (around 20)
5 cardamom pods
8 cloves
1 cinnamon quill (approximately 10cms long)
2 x 250g low-fat ricotta (I used Perfect Italiano ricotta smooth light)
Method
Pre heat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced
Slice the pears into wedges
Put the honey, water, wine, saffron, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon into a sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes
Add the pear wedges to the cooking liquid and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pears are soft but not mushy
Strain the pears and return the cooking liquid to the saucepan and reduce in volume (by simmering) to 3/4 cup - I had 1 1/4 cup to start with Cool
Meanwhile, tip the ricotta onto a baking paper lined tray and cook for 60 minutes - when finished cooking (the ricotta will be set and only lightly browned), remove and cool
To serve, cut baked ricotta into quarters or spoon into desired shapes - place in the middle of individual plates and equally divide the pear wedges over or around them
