One of the easiest recipes I like to make as a complement to a breakfast dish or as a dessert is poached fruit. Usually, I do apples during the fall, and I believe I've done peaches several times, and occasionally, I do pears. Pears are my least favorite, and I tend to combine them with apples when I can, or if not, I add lots of sweetener and spices. However, Zach got some Royal Riviera pears from Harry & David's, and they were delicious.
But we ended up with too many for us to each, so I've been trying to use them up. I made a pear cobbler, but I also made some poached pears.
POACHED PEARS
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
spices to taste
fresh fruit, peeled and sliced
-Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
-Add spices. (I usually go for a cinnamon stick and dashes of nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger.
-Add fruit (around 2 to 4 cups--or what is equal to 2-4 apples) and reduce heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes until tender. Be sure not to overcook!
You can also replace some or all of the water with wine for a richer taste. I just have to be careful with how much alcohol I consume, so I tend to use water these days. You can also add other fruit juices and citrus zest and dried fruits for more varied flavor. This is the foundation recipe that I tweak for my needs (as you can see above with the different types of fruit I use). Sometimes, we eat this as a side, but usually, we will spoon it over waffles, French toast, pancakes, or pound cake.
Bon appétit!
Mmm, those look so good! I always think of poached pears as being on the fancy side, but this looks pretty simple.
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