Poached Pears with Almond Pralines

This is an awesome dessert…  I love fruity desserts much more than cakes or other baked goods.  And even though pears are not something you can grow here in Puerto Rico, most every supermarket has them on sale these days.  I saw some lovely Bartlett pears on sale the other day and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to re-create a recipe I had originally learned last year at the Conscious Gourmet Cooking seminar – Poached Pears with Almond Pralines.

The original recipe called for Bosc pears, but they were so much smaller than the Bartletts that I decided to go for size and beauty.  The recipe turned out perfectly, IMHO.

And the Almond Pralines – this is awesome!!!! They’re the perfect accompaniment to these pears or a great snack all by itself.  They would taste great on top of ice cream or yogurt drizzled with a bit of caramel sauce…  mmmmm!!!!  I feel another craving coming up.

 

POACHED PEARS with ALMOND PRALINE

3 cups unsweetened organic apple juice

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves or a few whole cloves

pinch of ginger

6-8 Bartlett or Bosc pears – peeled, halved and cored

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Combine all ingredients, except pears, in a roasting pan.  Set pears in the poaching liquid. 
3. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. 
4. Check the pears for doneness – they should be soft when pricked with a knife. 
5. Remove the pears from poaching liquid and transfer them to a separate dish.
6. Transfer the poaching liquid to a skillet or wide saucepan and boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
7. Serve by placing one pear half on a dish, drizzle with the reduced poaching liquid and sprinkle with Almond Pralines.  recipe below…

I have a confession to make… the original recipe calls for you to cover the roasting pan and bake covered.  I did not notice that in the recipe and forgot.  The results were good too…  I just had to leave them a few more minutes in and increased the temperature to 425 degrees and left them an additional 15 minutes.  They should be done by then.

ALMOND PRALINE

1 cup sliced almonds – but slivered or chopped almonds would work too

1 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs maple sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
3. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes until golden brown – you can take advantage of the same oven you’re making the pears in.
4. Transfer IMMEDIATELY into a metal bowl to cool off and crisp up.