Spiced Pears Recipes

Steps:

• In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, combine the first nine ingredients and, if desired, cayenne. Cook over medium-high heat until butter is melted, 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally., Add pears; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened and pears are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. If desired, top with mint.

Steps:

• Drain pears, reserving syrup; set the pears aside. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pears and simmer for about 5 minutes more or until heated through.

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.

Steps:

• Using melon baller and starting from bottom, core each pear. Cut thin slice off bottom of each pear to make level.
• Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter, then 2 tablespoons water.
• Stand pears in caramel sauce in saucepan. Sprinkle cinnamon over. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with ras-el-hanout. Cover and continue to cook until pears are tender, occasionally spooning caramel sauce over pears and shaking pan so pears don't stick, about 15 minutes. Arrange orange slices around pears; spoon caramel sauce over. Cover and simmer until orange slices soften, about 5 minutes.
• Place orange slices on plates. Stand pears atop orange slices. Spoon caramel sauce over and sprinkle with almonds. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• *A Moroccan spice blend available at some specialty foods stores and Middle Eastern markets, and by mail from The Spice House (312-274-0378; thespicehouse.com).

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, toast the cloves, shaking the pan, until they're very aromatic. Add the sugar, vinegar and salt, and bring up to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel the pears, and halve them lengthwise, if needed, to fit the pan. (You can pick out the seeds if you like.) Carefully place the pears in the syrup, and simmer gently.
• Stir the pears every few minutes, to make sure they cook evenly, especially if the hot syrup doesn't completely submerge them. Cook them until they are just tender at their thickest parts; check with a toothpick after 15 minutes of cooking. When the pears are ready, remove the pan from the heat and place a clean plate on top of the pears to keep them submerged in the vinegar syrup. Allow to cool for six hours or overnight.
• Serve right away, store in the refrigerator or can. If you store them in the fridge, you can separate the pears and syrup and use them independently. If you plan on canning, Lewis instructs you to strain the syrup and boil it for 5 minutes. Pack the pears in jars, cover with the hot syrup and process according to your jar manufacturer's directions.

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Add lard and butter. Rub together with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse damp meal. Add 1/2 cup ice water and vinegar. Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball. Divide into 4 pieces; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
• For filling:
• Using spice grinder, finely grind first 4 ingredients. Transfer spice mixture to medium bowl; mix in sugar, flour, and salt. Divide pears between 2 large bowls; mix half of spice mixture and 2 tablespoons cream into each.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Roll out second dough disk to 12-inch round. Mound 1 bowl of pear filling in crust. Brush overhang lightly with milk. Drape second crust over; press top and bottom overhangs together. Fold under, forming edge of pie. Crimp edge decoratively. Cut 3-inch X in center of top crust; brush with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Repeat rolling and assembly with remaining dough disks and pear filling.
• Bake pies 40 minutes. Tent with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake until crusts are golden brown, pears are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, about 40 minutes longer. Cool completely. Serve with ice cream.
• *Brown star-shaped seedpods; available in the spice section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets and specialty foods stores.

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

Steps:

• Immediately place peeled and quartered pears in cold water with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
• In a 3-gallon stockpot, blend vinegar, sugar, water and spices.
• Drain pears, add to pot and bring to a rolling boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook until pears are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
• Cool then refrigerate overnight to give the flavors time to meld. Drain brine then serve.

Steps:

• Core the pears and set inside a baking dish. An old fashioned peeler with the pointy tip works well for this.
• Combine the craisins, walnuts and orange peel. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat for 2-5 minutes or until combined and bubbly.
• Take a pinch of your craisin mix and stuff into bottom of each pear. Stir in the rest of the craisin mix into your bubbly sauce.
• Ladle the hot sauce into each pear.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven till the pears are soft. (Usually 30-40 minutes) Check on the pears halfway through. If they look like they are going to burn, cover with foil till the last 5 minutes.
• Let stand at least 5 minutes. Put each pear on a plate then ladle some of the escaped sauce over the pear and drizzle around the plate for presentation.
• Tip: If you don't have any orange peel handy, substitute orange juice for the water.
• Tip: The sauce will escape through the bottom. Don't sweat it. Just ladle it back in after baking. The nut/craisin mix in the bottom helps with this.
• Tip: I know the baking time is a little ambiguous, be we move around a lot and I've made this in several different ovens. It's hard to "kill" these. Just test the pears with a fork. When the tops get that pretty caramel color and they're soft, they're ready.
• Tip: This works with any pear, just adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the pear. Firmer=longer. I like Bartlett pears because they're fat and stand up on their own better.

Steps:

• Put the sugar, cider vinegar, perry, star anise, cumin, red onions and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Add the pears and chillies and simmer for 40 mins until the liquid is syrupy and the pears are just cooked. Stir in the sultanas, remove from the heat and leave to cool, then spoon into sterilised jars.

Steps:

• Combine the water, red wine, lemon juice, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Place the pears in an ovenproof dish and pour the syrup over them.
• Poach at 150°C (300°F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until tender.
• Pour a small amount of the syrup in the bottom of dessert dishes and place the pears on top.
• Serve with whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• In an ovenproof 10-inch heavy skillet toast almonds in one layer in middle of oven until golden, about 5 minutes, and transfer to a bowl.
• Halve pears lengthwise and cut each half into 3 wedges, discarding cores. Quarter figs lengthwise.
• In skillet melt sugar and butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is melted completely and remove skillet from heat. With a knife halve vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into butter mixture. With a wooden spoon stir in vanilla pod, cinnamon, allspice, pears, and figs until coated and roast in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until pears are just tender. Remove pod and with spoon stir in almonds until coated well.
• Serve fruit mixture warm with sour cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two 8x5x3-inch loaf pans.
• Combine flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine pears, brown sugar, raisins, vegetable oil, white sugar, apple cider, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl; blend well. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. Cool in the loaf pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• To make the spiced pears: In a large non-aluminum saucepan combine the wine, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest and orange peels. Tie the cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth; add to the pan with nutmeg, mace, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Peel pears and cut in half length-wise. Add the pears to the liquid, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Gently cook about 5 to 15 minutes, or until almost tender. Remove from the heat and let sit covered 5 minutes.
• Remove the pears from the syrup and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Chill the syrup on ice; when completely cooled, add the pears, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• To make the chocolate mascarpone: Melt chocolate in microwave or in top of double-boiler over boiling water. Cool slightly. Whip the mascarpone with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and rum, whisking well. Refrigerate until chilled. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with star tip and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 450-degrees F. Remove the pears from the syrup and drain. With teaspoon or melon baller, carefully hollow out the pears, removing the core. Place the pears in an oven proof skillet large enough to hold all 8 halves. Brush with melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes or until barely heated through. Remove the skillet and carefully turn pears over in the hot butter. Transfer 2 halves to each warm serving plates and fill each half pear with chocolate mascarpone. Sprinkle with walnuts. Serve immediately with biscotti.

Steps:

• Put the sugar, vinegar, orange zest and juice, ginger, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, peel, core and halve or quarter the pears, depending on size. Add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 10-15 mins until they are just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack into warm sterilised Kilner jars with rubber seals (see tip below).
• Boil the vinegar mixture hard to reduce by a third, then pour over the pears, including the spices. The pears need to be completely covered with the liquid. Fit the rubber seal and clamp the jar tightly closed. Reserve any leftover syrup for topping up the jars later, as the pears will absorb the syrup over time. Store for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Combine pears, wine and lemon juice in heavy large saucepan. Cover and simmer until pears are soft, pushing unsubmerged pears into liquid occasionally, about 25 minutes. Force through food mill or coarse sieve to remove pear peel. Transfer to processor and puree.
• Return puree to heavy large sauce-pan. Add remaining ingredients. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and boil gently until mixture thickens and mounds slightly on spoon stirring often, about 50 minutes.
• Discard fruit slices, cloves, vanilla and cinnamon. Spoon butter into hot canning jar, filling only to 1/4 inch form top. Immediately wipe rim, using towel dipped into hot water. Place lid on jar; seal tightly. Repeat with remaining jars.
• Arrange jars in large pot. Add boiling water to pot so that at least 1 inch of water covers tops of jars. Cover pot and boil rapidly 15 minutes. Remove jars from pot. Cool to room temperature. Press center of each lid. If lid stays down, jar is sealed. (If lid pops up, store butter in refrigerator.) Store in cool dry place up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.

Steps:

• Mix pears, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon in large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie, using 9-inch pie plate. Fill with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with second pie crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits into top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool.

Steps:

• Put the sugar, honey, jelly and tea bags into a big saucepan with 600ml water and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the pear halves, then cover and simmer for 12-15 mins until the pears are just tender - poke them with a skewer or the tip of a knife.
• Lift out the pears, then turn up the heat, throw in the cranberries and boil for a few mins until syrupy. Discard the tea bags. Serve the pears with the warm syrup poured over and a spoonful of crème fraîche or yogurt.