For an elegant, light and impressive-looking dessert, try this recipe for perfect poached pear. Since you can poach pears at any stage of ripeness, this is a great recipe for every season! Just make sure that you poach the pear for a few extra minutes if it is unripe. For a more decadent treat, try reducing the cooking liquid to a syrup and spooning it over the pear just before serving!
Perfect Poached Pear
Recipe courtesy of The Natural Gourmet
Makes: 2 servings
Time: About 20 minutes
- Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 to 4 whole cloves
- 1 pear (bosc works well)
- 2 cups apple juice
- Directions
- 1. Pour the apple juice into a small saucepan. Add in the cloves and cinnamon stick. Get the cooking liquid up to a simmer.
- 2. Peel the pear (removing all brown spots!), leaving the stem on. Split the pear lengthwise, making sure one side gets the stem. Remove the seed core with a melon baller or a spoon, but a melon baller works much better!
- 3. Lower the pear halves, bottom side down, into the cooking liquid and adjust the heat so that it simmers gently. Cover.
- 4. Cook, turning the pears every 3 minutes or so, until soft and slightly tender, typically 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon how ripe the pear is.
- 5. Turn of the heat and remove the pear halves from the liquid.
- 6. Chill the poached pears in the fridge until ready to serve. Note: They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, so you can make this dessert ahead of time!
- 7. For the sauce, reduce the poaching liquid to a syrup and then spoon it over the poached peers before serving. Pictured below.
- 8. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and mint leaf, and enjoy with a fruit sorbet or vanilla ice cream!
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