Pears pears the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you...you really didn't think I would continue with toot did you? Because unlike beans, pears are magical. When roasted, baked, or poached they transform into something close to paradise, especially when paired with the right ingredients. Ginger, rum, cinnamon, and cardamon are great companions of pears, but in this recipe vanilla is the pear's best friend. Mixed with a little sugar, a little butter, and a little lemon, you have a vanilla pear that will knock your socks off.
This recipe is perfect. Perfect for a cold wintry day and you feel like something comforting to eat. Perfect to wow your guests for a winter dessert. Perfect for you to make because it is a cinch. The hardest part is peeling and coring your pears, which takes all of 5 maybe 8 minutes tops. You can throw this in the oven at the last minute and have a dessert that tastes far more complicated than that. All because of the pear. Like I said, its a magical fruit.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
4-5 medium pears (Bosc, Bartlett, Forelle, or Concorde)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and adjust rack to middle position. With a thin, sharp knife cut vanilla bean lengthwise from end to end. Open to expose the seeds and scrape lengthwise to remove all vanilla seeds. Stir seeds into the sugar.
3. Drizzle evenly with lemon juice, then sprinkle with vanilla bean-sugar mixture. Nestle vanilla pod among the pears. Pour water into the 9 x 13 baking dish and dot each pear with butter cubes.
4. Roast pears for 30 minutes, brushing with pan juices 2-3 times throughout baking process. Turn pears over and continue roasting and basting until tender and caramelized, 25-35 minutes depending on the size of your pears. Test pears with a paring knife inserted into thickest part of pear. Paring knife should enter and exit pear with little to no resistance when done.
5. Serve warm alone or with ice cream. I prefer homemade cinnamon ice cream, but vanilla bean also works well.
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen, December 2009
3 comments:
if i use splenda will it still glaze?
This looks like it would make such an elegant dessert and yet it sounds so simple and easy to make. It looks like a delicious way to enjoy pears. I have a linky party on my blog every Saturday called "Sweets for a Saturday" and I'd like to invite you to stop by this weekend and link this up.
Clean & Crazy: That is a good question and unfortunately I don't have a good answer for you. I haven't had much exposure to Splenda as a substitute for sugar. I do know is that it is the only artifical sweetener recommended in baking, but that is the extent of my knowledge. Sorry! Let us know what you find a good answer or what the result is if you try it yourself.
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