Roasted Pears – Easy Pizzazz on the Plate

Cooking, Recipes By Cathy Thomas Dec 13, 2016

Good Tidings of Comfort and Joy, my friends.

Savory OR Sweet! With meat or as dessert …

I’m always looking for easy ways to create palate joy on the plate.

But … without creating much work. Roasted Pears are so easy to prepare and armed with spices to make them perky. Cinnamon and cloves + lemon juice and sugar. Ripe pears are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

Use them as a side-dish with roast or grilled pork, chicken dishes or game.

Serve them atop green salad or grain salad.

Use them as dessert accompanied with crisp cookies or a good dollop of whipped cream and crushed English Toffee (such as Almond Roca).

OR …

Or top with some hot fudge sauce and toasted nuts or shaved roasted coconut.

RIPEN PEARS: They are usually sold rock hard; so you have to plan ahead and allow them time to ripen at home. The easiest way is the brown bag method. Enclose them loosely in a brown bag; check them every day. When ripe they will give to gentle pressure next to the stem. Once ripe, they can be refrigerated 3 to 6 days.

Roasted Pears
Yield: 4 halves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use
2 ripe pears, such as Bosc, Bartlett, D’Anjou or Comice, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, cored with melon baller (see video, or if you prefer, leave them uncored, they are good that way, too)
Procedure:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
2. Coat a medium-sized rimmed baking sheet (nonstick preferred) with half of the vegetable oil. Toss pear halves in juice-spice mixture and place cut-side down on prepare baking sheet. Drizzle remaining oil on top. Roast until caramelized on bottom and tender, about 35 to 45 minutes (roasting times will vary depending on ripeness and size of pears). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature.