September 7, 2009
Poached Ginger Pears
Sara Jones, Tucson CSA
You can alter this basic recipe in any number of ways. Using
red wine will give the pears a nice color, add different spices or
use citrus, too.
2 cups white wine or apple juice
2 cups water
½ cup sugar
1-2 inches freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 medium or 6 small pears, peeled and halved
About ¾ cup mascarpone, greek yogurt or crème fraiche
1/4 cup slivered almonds
In a medium saucepan, bring wine or juice, water, sugar, vanilla
and ginger to a boil. Add pears and reduce heat to medium low.
Cook for about 15-20 minutes until tender when pierced by a
fork. Remove pears from liquid, return liquid to a boil and cook
until reduced to about 1 cup syrup. Use a spoon to core pears.
To serve, place pears on a plate, drizzle with a little syrup, add a
dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with almonds.