Like so many of Sarah’s recipes, this autumn dish is simple to make and a joy to eat. She advises using Comice pears as they are big and fat and sit well on their bottoms. I only had the skinny Conference pears in the larder, so on her advice I sliced a little off the base to enable them to remain upright.

YOU WILL NEED Six pears, peeled but with stalks left on 12 star anise 12 whole cardamom pods, slightly crushed 12 whole cloves 12 tablespoons port 6 tablespoons runny honey.

Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F or gas mark 4.

Cut 6 x 30cm circles of greaseproof paper.

For each parcel place a greaseproof circle in a pudding bowl (this keeps the liquid in when tying up the parcels).

Place the pear in the middle of the paper, add two star anise and two cardamom pods, pushing the cloves into the pear as they can sometimes pierce the paper when tieing up.

Spoon in 2 tablespoons port and 1 tablespoon of honey.

Gather the paper round the top of the stalk and tie with string, then transfer the parcel into a roasting tin. Repeat this step for each pear.

Bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on variety), or until soft to the tip of a knife.

Serve still in the paper for each person to unwrap.