Monday, March 7, 2011

Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce


Are you ready to transform an ugly fruit into an elegant, beautiful dessert? I had tasted poached pears once before, never had I made them myself and I was itching to. I noticed last week that pears were on sale so, here was my chance.

Your average pears are not all that unpleasant to look at. I usually buy Bartlett or Anjou varieties for snacking and cooking. But a Bosc pear—those I had never cared to buy. They are just so… ugly! When it comes to poaching however, Bosc pears seem to be the way to go. They are firm and hold their shape really well. I'm kicking myself about right now that I didn't snap a picture before I peeled the poor things.

These pears really did impress. The infused flavors of the raspberry provided just the right amount of sweetness, only to be complimented by the raspberry sauce drizzled down the sides. These are a perfect dessert. Not too filling, not too sweet—perfect! I've always said that a dessert comprised solely of fruit is like nature's candy!



Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 Bosc pears
  • 64 ounce bottle Cran-Raspberry juice (I used Ocean Spray)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 whole cloves
For the Sauce:
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 2 Tablespoons reserved juice (from poaching)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar

Peel the pears, being careful to keep stem intact. Combine juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves in a pot, bring to a boil. Gently place the pears in the boiling juice, bring to a boil again. Place foil on top of pears to keep submerged in liquid. Turn heat down and simmer 25-30 minutes. Carefully remove pears from pot with a slotted spoon. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for 2 hrs or overnight.
For the sauce, combine raspberries, reserved juice and sugar. Heat slightly to melt the sugar. Cool completely. Drizzle over pears, placing berries around the pears.
Sauce can be made ahead of time.

Yield - 4 servings

No comments:

Post a Comment