Pineapple with Ice Cream & Chilli Syrup

The idea of combining both sweet and spicy tastes in a dish was not new to me. Many of my Chinese recipes used this fantastic combination too. But for making desserts, it seems to be another horizon for me to explore. When I flipped through the Good Food magazine, the recipe of Pineapple with chilli syrup really got my eyes and won my heart. Without a minute hesitation, I went out to source a decent and sweet pineapple. I found that Bethonga gold pineapples won’t let me down for once. They give a stronger flavour with less acidic than other regular pineapple.

Some people might sense a bit itching feel on tongue when eating fresh pineapples, especially the regular type of pineapples, that caused by the bromelain content. It might not be as serious as allergy, just a mild uncomfortable feeling on the surface of their tongues. That’s why hubby dislikes eating regular pineapples. I learnt a small trick from my mother-in-law to remove or reduce the unpleasant irritations. Simply soak the pineapple slices in salted water for a short while. The small amount of salt would help decrease the unpleasant substance, also elevate the flavour of the fruit.

Recipe adapted from GoodFood October 2010 (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup caster sugar
• ½ cup water
• 3 birdseye chillies, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 pineapple, peeled
• 4 scoops honey or caramel ice-cream (I used vanilla ice-cream)
• small mint leaves, to serve (I used chopped chillies)
• pure icing sugar, to dust (I didn’t use as the pineapple is sweet enough.)

Method:

1. Stir sugar and ½ cup water in a small pan on low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and boil for 7 mins, until syrupy. Remove from heat. Stir in chilli and set aside.
2. Cut pineapple into four 2-3cm-thick slices. Using an apple corer or cookie cutter, remove core from pineapple slices.
3. Preheat a chargrill or barbecue on high. (I used a grill pan to fry the pineapple slices and made the grill marks.) Cook pineapple for 3-4 mins each side, until golden. Divide pineapple slices between plates, top with ice-cream and drizzle over chilli syrup. Scatter over mint, dust with icing sugar and serve.