“The trick here is to turn and turn and turn the pineapple – like it’s on a rôtisserie – until it’s really caramelised and softened and all the juice comes out,” says Mat Lindsay. “It’s sweet, sour, spicy, sticky and a little bit salty. A very simple recipe with complex flavours.”
Ingredients
Chilli salt
Method
Main
1.Preheat the oven grill to 250°C or the highest possible temperature. Rub pineapple with brown sugar and place on a wire rack set in a roasting pan. Pour 500ml (2 cups) water into the base of pan, add star anise and any excess sugar and roast close to the grill, rotating the pineapple and basting it with liquid from the pan occasionally until deeply caramelised and a skewer can be inserted into the centre without much resistance (30-40 minutes). By this time the liquid in the pan should have turned into a caramel flavoured with the juice from the fruit and star anise (add a little water during cooking if syrup starts to burn). Cool to room temperature (40-60 minutes).
2.For chilli salt, combine ingredients in a small bowl.
3.Halve the lime and cook cut-side down in a frying pan over high heat until deeply caramelised (2-3 minutes).
4.Quarter the pineapple lengthways, remove core, then cut each quarter lengthways into 4 thin wedges. Serve with lime to squeeze over and chilli salt for dipping.
Drink Suggestion: Ota Shuzo Dokan Umeshu Drink suggestion by Julien Dromgool
Notes