Spice Poached Apples Or Pears Recipes

SPICE-POACHED APPLES OR PEARS

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients except the fruit in a large saucepan, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. As soon as the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the syrup for 5 minutes.
• Carefully drop the apples or pears into the pan and bring the syrup back to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the fruit can be pierced easily with a thin knife, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the fruit; check early and often. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples or pears to a bowl.
• Turn up the heat and boil the syrup for another 10 minutes, at which point you'll have about 1¼ cups. Pour the syrup over the fruit, cover, and let cool until slightly warm or at room temperature.

SPICED POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine the water, red wine, lemon juice, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Place the pears in an ovenproof dish and pour the syrup over them.
• Poach at 150°C (300°F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until tender.
• Pour a small amount of the syrup in the bottom of dessert dishes and place the pears on top.
• Serve with whipped cream.

SPICED BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Core the pears and set inside a baking dish. An old fashioned peeler with the pointy tip works well for this.
• Combine the craisins, walnuts and orange peel. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat for 2-5 minutes or until combined and bubbly.
• Take a pinch of your craisin mix and stuff into bottom of each pear. Stir in the rest of the craisin mix into your bubbly sauce.
• Ladle the hot sauce into each pear.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven till the pears are soft. (Usually 30-40 minutes) Check on the pears halfway through. If they look like they are going to burn, cover with foil till the last 5 minutes.
• Let stand at least 5 minutes. Put each pear on a plate then ladle some of the escaped sauce over the pear and drizzle around the plate for presentation.
• Tip: If you don't have any orange peel handy, substitute orange juice for the water.
• Tip: The sauce will escape through the bottom. Don't sweat it. Just ladle it back in after baking. The nut/craisin mix in the bottom helps with this.
• Tip: I know the baking time is a little ambiguous, be we move around a lot and I've made this in several different ovens. It's hard to "kill" these. Just test the pears with a fork. When the tops get that pretty caramel color and they're soft, they're ready.
• Tip: This works with any pear, just adjust the baking time depending on the firmness of the pear. Firmer=longer. I like Bartlett pears because they're fat and stand up on their own better.

SPICED TEA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine the water, brown sugar, cranberry sauce and honey. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; add tea bags. Cover and steep for 5-8 minutes., Meanwhile, core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears; cut a thin slice from bottom to level if necessary. Remove and discard tea bags. Add pears to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove pears with a slotted spoon and keep warm., In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups tea mixture to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes., In a small bowl, combine the creme fraiche, confectioners' sugar and orange zest. Place pears on dessert plates. Drizzle with syrup and serve with sauce.

MULLED PEARS AND APPLES

Steps:

• 1. Fill a large, heavy pot with apple juice. Tie the cinnamon sticks, ginger, and cloves together in a cheesecloth bag with kitchen string and add to the juice. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, partially covered, to infuse flavors.
• 2. Meanwhile, squeeze the lemon into a large bowl and fill with water. Core the apples and pears from the bottom and peel them. Drop immediately into the lemon water (to prevent browning) until poaching time.
• 3. Carefully add apples to the boiling poaching liquid, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to a bowl. Add the pears to the liquid and poach until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
• 4. Cool the poaching liquid to room temperature and discard spice bag. Return fruit to the liquid and refrigerate overnight.
• 5. To serve, place the fruit, stem-ends up, on a cake stand or platter. Strain some of the liquid over the fruit.