This turned out to be an excellent way of turning a tasteless supermarket-bought pineapple into something juicy and full of flavour. It looks lovely as well: a glossy circle of golden, glistening slices of pineapple tinged with brown.
1 large pineapple
Ready-made puff pastry
1 tbsp white rum
100 g sugar
100 g butter
Cut the rind off the pineapple, and slice into fairly thick rings. Remove the hard centres. Melt the butter in a heavy, non-stick frying pan about 20 cm in diameter that you can put in the oven. Add the sugar and stir to blend. Then arrange the pineapple rings in a circle covering the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly. Cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes; the juices should bubble and caramelise somewhat. Add the rum, remove from the heat, and leave to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 240C (i.e. very hot indeed). Roll out a circle of pastry (or unwrap your pre-rolled pastry) and lay it over the pineapple, tucking the edges down the sides of the pan. Put in the oven, bake for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to 210C and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out. Serve with dollops of thick crème fraîche. Bon appétit!