Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Poached Pears With Cinnamon And Orange Syrup

Bartlett pears at Ralph's

I seem to like pears, judging by the three recipes I have here at Cook And Destroy. They are easy to cook with, much easier than apples. Apples can be kind of a pain in the ass, given their tendency to burst open when baking them.

This is a really nice Moroccan desert. It's easy to prepare, but you have to be patient when reducing the syrup and be sure to watch it near the end. If you don't, the syrup can go quickly from too thin to too thick. Don't ask me how I know. This dish will take about 1 hour, 15 minutes to prepare.

Poached Pears With Cinnamon And Orange Syrup


Ingredients
2 quarts water
1 cup sugar
1/2 navel orange with skin, sliced 1/2 thick
3" cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
6 large Bartlett pears with stems, peeled
12 pitted prunes

Directions
1. Peel the pears with a paring knife.

2. In a large pot bring the water to a boil with the sugar, orange slices, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and clove. Stir the water to dissolve the sugar.

3. Add the pears and prunes and cook over moderate heat until the pears are tender. This can take about 25 minutes.

4. Transfer the pears and prunes with a slotted spoon and reserve.

5. Boil the water over high heat until reduced to 1 1/2 to 2 cups. This can take up to 30 minutes, but monitor closely.

6. When done, strain the syrup over the pears and prunes and serve at room temperature.

Notes
I put one pear in a bowl with two prunes and drizzled the syrup over them and served with a fork. I wonder if a scoop of vanilla ice cream could be a nice addition?

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