Five Spice
Poached Pears
These poached pears are perfect for a cold fall night in to impress a date. Plus, the bonus of making your entire house smell like fall. What's not to love?
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Makes 4 servings
Cook time: 1 hr
What you’ll need
4 pears, bosc or anjou (not bartlett)
6-7 cups water
2 tbsp five spice powder
4 cinnamon sticks
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp butter
Vanilla ice cream
For fried walnut bits
Walnut bits
Neutral oil of choice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
Prep
Prep the pears and caramel sauce:
Wash and peel your pears, keeping the stems intact.
Peel and juice the lemons. Try to avoid peeling too much of the white part (the pith) as it can turn the dessert bitter.
In a large pot (tall is better than wide) bring the water to a boil. Add the pears, lemon juice and zest, brown sugar, five spice, and cinnamon sticks to the pot and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until pears are tender.
In a container large enough to hold the pears, transfer the pears and enough liquid to cover the majority of them. You should have about 2 cups of liquid left in the pot. Let pears cool.
Return the poaching liquid to a boil and let reduce. When reduced significantly, add butter and cornstarch and let it thicken to a caramel consistency. If not thickening enough, add more brown sugar and cornstarch.
Prep the pears and caramel sauce:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add your small walnut bits and boil for 2 minutes and no more. Strain, and in a bowl mix with white sugar.
In a pan, bring a generous amount of oil (1/4 cup should suffice) to frying temp. When the oil is hot but not sputtering, gently drop the sugared walnut bits into the oil. Let fry for about 4 minutes or until fragrant and deeper brown. Remove from oil and transfer to parchment sheet or tray, sprinkle with salt. They should be crispy, sweet, and salty.
Plate
Slice the pears in half and pit them with a melon baller or spoon. Make vertical slices down the pear halves, leaving the top inch of the pear by the stem intact to hold it together.
In a large bowl or a plate, fan out 2 pear halves and stack them adjacently. Using a warm spoon, take your ice cream and spoon a quenelle onto the side of the pears.
Top with crunchy walnut bits and drizzle caramel generously over dessert. Serve and enjoy!
Lace tuile: If you want to take the plating up a notch, it's super easy to make a crunchy lace topping. Just combine oil, water, and flour in a 2:2:1 ratio and fry till crispy.
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