Thursday, January 31, 2013

Fantastic Caramel Poached Pears

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 The Gourmandise School  
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 Sweets and Savories
    

caramelized pears

mmm...caramel
It's still cold out.  And I'm still craving all things warm, rich and sticky sweet.  We came up with this recipe when left with extra simple syrup that we had infused with saffron and golden raisins.  A pair of lonely pears were sliced in half and grilled face-down on a cast iron pan.  We drenched them with the syrup and cooked 'em down until sticky sweet.  And rich.  And oh so buttery-caramely-happy.  

Enjoy this recipe while pears are still in season, but it's a great recipe for those still a bit firm and not quite ripe.

Caramel Poached Pears
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup golden raisins
2 threads saffron
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp extract)

4-8 pears, sliced in half.

1. Bring the water and sugar to boil.  Add the raisins, saffron and vanilla and cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat.  Strain out raisins and set both syrup and raisins aside.

2. Heat a cast iron pan and place pears open-face down.  Cook until they begin to get color on the bottom.

3. Pour syrup over the pears and cook over medium high for 5 minutes.  

4. Cover and cook down another 15 minutes, or until the syrup thickens and pears are soft and buttery when poked with a knife.

5. Carefully arrrange pears on a platter.  Pour desired amount of syrup over the pears.  Add raisins if you like.  SERVE WITH ICE CREAM.

Wishing you a delicious day,
Clémence and Hadley 

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