Danielle has always been a big fan of using everything up and not letting anything go to waste. This month’s recipe is a good illustration of that ethic:
Poached and Roasted Pears with a Blueberry Sprinkle
I love to serve this fruit dish because it’s very elegant. Instead of using blueberries you can substitute fresh raspberries. Or for a totally decadent breakfast treat, top the pears with melted dark chocolate.
Serves 8
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 lemons, zested and juiced
4 large Bartlett pears, ripe but still firm
½ cup coarse sugar
1 cup blueberries, rinsed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 9×13 Pyrex glass dish with non-stick spray.
Wash, core, peel and halve the pears. Keep peels. Discard cores.
In a large heavy bottom stainless steel pan, heat water with sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and pear peels and boil for 2 min.
Add the pear halves and boil for 10 minutes. Gently remove pear halves and place round side up in the prepared Pyrex dish. Keep poaching liquid for other use. See below.
Sprinkle top of pears with half the coarse sugar. Roast for approx. 10 min. until cooked al dente. Remove from oven and let cool.
While the pears are roasting sprinkle remaining sugar over washed blueberries.
To assemble put each half into a dish and sprinkle with prepared blueberries and serve. Enjoy!
(You can poach the pears the day before and keep them in their poaching liquid over night. The next day remove them from the liquid and place them into the Pyrex dish to be roasted. See above.)
To the leftover poaching liquid add another cup of sugar and cook for another 20 min. more. Remove from heat and let the liquid cool in the pan. Measure 3 ½ cups of syrup and add ¼ cup of “Poire William” brandy. When the syrup is cooled strain into a 1 quart mason jars and close with a screw top. Refrigerate until ready to use. This syrup has a wonderful pear and lemon flavor and is absolutely delicious over fresh fruit salad. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
ENJOY!