An Underripe Pineapple

A few days ago I had an underripe pineapple on my hands, so I roasted it. I rarely make baked fruit desserts because I am too impatient not to eat the fruit as is. However, a very tart pineapple is no fun to eat straight up so I took advantage of the opportunity to experiment.

I chose a recipe out of a swanky Williams Sonoma roasting cookbook. It's a book I often consult for inspiration, but I don't really cook from it. Page after page of food porn-y photos and at least four pricey herbs per recipe. This pineapple dessert is the easiest thing in there.

Core and peel a pineapple. Cut it crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Pour whatever juice you get while preparing the pineapple into a small bowl and add 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract. Arrange the pineapple in a baking dish and pour the juice over the fruit. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger and--this is the most important part--1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of black pepper. Roast at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Let the pineapple cool a little but eat it while it's still warm, preferably with some plain, creamy yogurt. The pineapple will have a spicy kick that you'll really feel as the fruit slides down your throat. The juice that the pineapple produces while baking has even more zing. If I make this again, I will kick it up a notch--sorry, couldn't help myself--with more black pepper. If you're tempted not to eat the entire pineapple in one sitting, keep in mind that the peppery zing will dissapear overnight.