Roast pear and rhubarb compote

Tongue-tingling rhubarb and sweet fragrant pears are always a heady combination, and the Christmassy notes from the spices means there’s a whole lot to love in a bowl of this compote. It also makes an easy pudding; swap the yoghurt for some lightly whipped vanilla-spiked cream, and maybe some ginger biscuits crumbled on top instead of nuts.

400g rhubarb, cut into 6-cm pieces, sliced lengthways if very thick

4 ripe but firm Conference or Bartlett pears

squeeze of lemon juice

120g caster sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

1 star anise

To serve:

Greek yoghurt

4 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts

Serves: 4 | Takes: 25 minutes

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Place the rhubarb in a 30 x 20 x 5-cm roasting tray. Peel, core and chop the pears into pieces the length and width of your index finger. Add them to the tray as you go, tossing with a little lemon juice to prevent discolouration.

Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and add the spices to the tray. Toss to combine well, then cover tightly with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the foil; the fruit should be very tender but if not, return to the oven, uncovered, for a further 5 minutes or so.

Serve the compote and the tray juices with a spoonful of yoghurt and the hazelnuts sprinkled over the top.