Clarissa Feildel’s sweet spiced ginger pears are packed with all things nice! Pop the ingredients in a pan, cook for 35 minutes, and you have a breakfast or dessert that looks all sorts of sophisticated. What a delicious way to help hit your daily 5&5 of fruit and veg!
Ingredients
Method
Heat a medium skillet or heavy-based frying pan over a low heat. Add spices and dry roast for about 2 minutes or until aromatic.
Immediately add butter and ginger to the skillet. Cook until the butter foams. Add pear wedges. Cook, turning, until the pear wedges are caramelised on each side.
Pour in honey and water. Cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes, turning occasionally, until pears soften.
Serve sweet spiced ginger pears with porridge for breakfast, if you like, or have them with ice cream for dessert.
Use a firm pear such as Beurre Bosc, Packham, or under-ripe Williams pears (also called Bartlett pears) for these sweet spiced ginger pears. You need a variety with firm flesh that holds its shape and doesn’t disintegrate while it absorbs the sweet spiced syrup.
The peak harvest time for Australian pears is from January to April, but cold storage means you should be able to find pears in supermarkets almost year-round. Look for beurre bosc from March to October; Packham from May to December; and Williams (Bartlett) from January to May.
You’ll want to poach pears that are firm but sweet. To check, press the pear gently near the stem. If it yields a little, it’s ready. If your pears need more ripening, Australian Pears says to keep them in a paper bag at room temperature. This traps the ethylene gas the pears give off, encouraging them to ripen. To really speed things up, pop the pears in a paper bag with a banana. But check them daily; otherwise, they may get overripe! If your pears are the exact firmness you need, pop them in the crisper drawer of your fridge. This stalls the ripening process and keeps them fresh for 3-5 days.
