5.19.2011

Honey Ginger Poached Pears

For mother's day, I wanted to make a simple fruit dessert. I originally wanted to grill some peaches with a sweet balsamic syrup. But since it is only May, there were no peaches in sight at the grocery store. So I grabbed some pears thinking I could grill those when I remembered this great little recipe from the kitchn

Ingredients:
3 ripe yet very firm pears
4 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
4-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced

Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler and cut them them in half vertically.

Using a melon baller, remove the core from the pear halves.

 
Prepare the poaching liquid; 4 cups water, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/3 cup honey, and place in deep saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cut the ginger piece, peel it and finely chop it.
Once the poaching liquid is dissolved add the chopped ginger

Place the pears halves in the poaching liquid and low heat to a simmer. Cover the pot but tilt the lid so some of the steam can escape. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes until pears are fork tender.

Remove the pears and place them in a storage container and refrigerate overnight (I only had a few hours, which I think resulted in a milder flavor, go overnight if you can)

When ready to prepare, remove pears and pour poaching liquid in a small saucepan. Heat at medium heat for 30 minutes until it becomes syrupy and reduces by about half.

Serve pears with vanilla ice cream and pour syrup on top. Enjoy.