Asian Pears With Ginger Maple Syrup Recipes

VANILLA-GINGER ASIAN PEARS

Steps:

• Cut each pear quarter lengthwise into 4 slices, and place in a large bowl. Bring ginger, vanilla seeds and pod, sugar, and water to a boil in a small saucepan for 3 minutes. Pour mixture over pears. Press a piece of parchment directly on surface, and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Discard vanilla pod and ginger. Divide pears among 4 bowls, and serve with cookies or wafers on the side if desired.

GINGER PEARS

Steps:

• Use a saucepan that has a cover and is large enough to hold the pears upright in a single layer.
• Place the water, sugar, rind, and juice in the saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil; stir in the ginger and set aside.
• With a vegetable peeler, peel the pears; if necessary, trim the bottoms a bit so they will stand upright.
• Place the pears in the syrup, cover, and cook over medium heat; baste the pears frequently (a ladle is handy for this since the ginger might get stuck in a bulb baster).
• Do not over cook; test with a cake tester or toothpick; when they pierce easily they are done; start testing after 20 minutes.
• When the pears are just tender, transfer them with a slotted spoon to a shallow bowl.
• Add the marmalade to the syrup and let boil for 5 minutes.
• Then add in the cognac, and pour the hot sauce over the pears.
• With a ladle or large spoon baste occasionally until cool; cover and refrigerate.
• Serve each pear standing upright in a compote or dessert bowl, with several spoonfuls of the syrup.

PEAR PIE WITH MAPLE AND GINGER

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk 6 tablespoons ice water and egg yolk in small bowl to blend. Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle egg mixture over. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together and divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten into disks; wrap each disk in plastic and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• For filling:
• Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Toss first 8 ingredients in large bowl to coat.
• Roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured work surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Transfer filling to crust. Roll out smaller dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under, pressing to seal and forming high-standing rim. Crimp edge decoratively. Brush crust with milk. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape during baking.
• Place baking sheet on bottom rack to catch any juices that may bubble over. Bake pie on center rack until crust is golden brown and juices bubble thickly, tenting pie with foil if crust browns too quickly, about 1 hour. Transfer pie to rack and cool. Serve pie slightly warm or at room temperature.

ASIAN PEARS WITH GINGER-MAPLE SYRUP

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup water and fresh ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Cover; simmer until ginger is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in syrup, whiskey, lemon juice, lemon peel and nutmeg. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
• Slice pears into rounds. Overlap 6 rounds on each plate. Drizzle sauce over. Top with crystallized ginger and mint.