Honey-Roasted Pineapple with Pistachios & Coconut Yoghurt Recipe

Funny how things creep up on you.  When I started this blog, a bit over 18 months ago, I had no idea where it would lead to - I certainly never for a moment imagined the friendships and connections that would develop with wonderful people all over the globe.  Likewise, back when it used to take me a whole week (sometimes longer) to be able to actually create a post, I couldn't imagine ever getting to my 100th post - and yet, here we now are - this folks is my 100th post.

Such an occasion of course calls for a celebration of some sort, and this dish seems like a great way to do just that.  Let's face it, there is always something rather celebratory about dessert (even if you eat it every night of the week - which, incidentally, I don't), and exotic ingredients like pineapple, vanilla and pistachio definitely add a touch of decadence and luxury.  At the same time, given that there is absolutely nothing here but fresh fruit, honey, nuts, coconut and yoghurt, this adds up to a totally healthy and guilt-free dessert in my estimation.

Now, before I move on to sharing this recipe with you, I want to tell you something about the honey I used.  Just before Christmas, the Airborne Honey people sent me a couple of samples of their product to review - this little jar of Tawari honey, and also one of Manuka honey.  So, yes I did receive free samples, but let me assure you that I have not been paid for my opinion on this product.  My mother always subscribed to the belief that if you couldn't find anything good to say about someone or something, it was better to say nothing at all.  That was well and truly drummed into me as a children, and to this day I live by that.  So you can be sure that if I had found this product in any way unsatisfactory you wouldn't be reading about it here - I would simply have politely let the people at Airborne know my opinion and refrained from reviewing it.  The fact that you're reading about it here, means that I genuinely thought it was great and no-one has paid me to tell you that.

Airborne Honey has been produced in New Zealand for over 100 years, and they make three substantial claims about their honey - firstly that it is honest (it is labelled as to its floral source, and the packaging details the exact percentage of the pollen source in your jar);  secondly that it is undamaged (unique processing methods and rigorous testing take place to ensure the least amount of heat damage occurs);  and thirdly that it is traceable (every jar contains a batch number which enables the product to be traced back to the hive it came from).  You can read more about this on their website.  Also on the website you can find details of their stockists in New Zealand and importers worldwide, so even though these are uniquely New Zealand in origin you don't have to be living here to get your hands on some of this deliciousness.

I haven't used the Manuka one too much yet, so I'll tell you more about that another day, but I am definitely having a love affair with the Tawari.  I'm personally not fussed on strong honey flavours, but found that, as promised, this has a delicate butterscotch flavour and strikes just the right note drizzled over my yoghurt and granola.  However, in this dish, by the time it had spent 20 or so minutes in the oven with the pineapple it turned into something that tasted more like liquified barley sugars - it was thick and syrupy, and it tasted so insanely good, I kid you not, I truly licked my plate clean (and the dish the pineapple had been roasted in) so as not to miss a single drop of this liquid heaven. I - AM - NOT - EXAGGERATING!

Anyway, I'm sure you've heard enough about honey, so on with the recipe.

Honey-Roasted Pineapple with Pistachios & Coconut Yoghurt Recipe

Adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller (Food for Friends)

Makes 2 heavenly servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2 slices fresh pineapple, cut about 1cm (1/3 inch) thick

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup warm honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup dessicated coconut, lightly toasted

1/2 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt

2 teaspoons palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

handful shelled pistachios, roasted and roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (355 degrees F).  Remove skin from pineapple and cut each slice in half crosswise.  Place in a shallow ovenproof dish in a single layer.  Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the warmed honey;  add in the scraped-out vanilla pod and cinnamon;  then pour all of the honey mixture over the pineapple.

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes;  turn the pineapple slices over and baste with the juices;  then roast for a further 10-15 minutes or until the pineapple is soft.  The juice will be thick, and syrupy.  Leave to cool in the juice.

To make the coconut yoghurt, combine the toasted coconut, yoghurt, palm sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix well.  Taste and adjust the sweetness or vanilla to suit your tastes.  Refrigerate, covered, until you are ready to serve.

Serve pineapple slices on a plate, and drizzle some of the syrupy roasting juices over the top.  Serve a dollop of the coconut yoghurt on the side;  sprinkle on some of the roasted pistachios;  and lastly drizzle more of the juices over everything.

Eat, enjoy, and when you think no-one's watching go ahead and lick the plate!

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge vanilla - the linky is still open until Monday 24 January, so keep your vanilla posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is quinoa.

I'm also linking this to the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop - which category do you think it would fit into - I think it could go either way.