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Griddled fresh pineapple cooked in lemon grass & ginger syrup - with vanilla ice cream & shot of Malibu
Serves: 4-6 people depending on portion size
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients
1 x large pineapple
300ml water
250g caster sugar
1 x stick lemon grass
1 x thumb fresh ginger – peeled & shredded (matchsticks)
Malibu liquor
Vanilla ice cream
Method
1. Remove the top and bottom of the pineapple – keeping the top for garnish later. Use an apple corer and take the centre out of the pineapple. Slice the pineapple into rounds – alternatively the pineapple can be cut into wedges, depending on the desired look you want for the finished dish.
2. Peel the ginger, then slice down the length. Place the slices together on a chopping board and cut into matchsticks.
3. Trim the top and bottom off the lemon grass. Place on a chopping board. Using the back of a knife tap down along the length of the lemon grass – this will release the natural oils.
4. Place the water and sugar in a saucepan; bring to the boil, or heat until the sugar has dissolved – the liquid should be clear. Then add the lemon grass and ginger to the syrup, and remove from the heat to cool.
5. Put a griddle pan on the heat, ready to finish the pineapple.
6. Place the pineapple rounds onto some kitchen paper and blot, to dry slightly. Carefully place the rounds onto the hot griddle pan and cook until caramelized and marked. Repeat on the other side – you should be able to smell the natural sugars cooking.
7. Once cooked, drop into the spiced sugar syrup to steep.
To serve….
1. Pick out the pineapple rounds/wedges from the syrup, and arrange them onto a serving plate. Also pick out some of the lemon grass and ginger from the syrup for garnish.
2. Next, top the pineapple with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and pour over a shot of Malibu. Alternately serve coconut ice cream/sorbet, and garnish with toasted coconut.
3. For a special touch – walk around the table asking guests if they would like a Malibu shot in a glass to drink with it.
4. If you decide to serve on a larger plate, then you can make use of your saved pineapple top – place in the middle, arrange the griddled pineapple around it, and serve the ice cream separately.

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