Spicy pears poached in 100% pure cranberry juice

Servings : 4

Directions : 20 minutes

Cook in : 25 minutes

Ingredients

500 ml (2 cups) of 100% pure cranberry juice
140 ml (½ cup + 1 tbsp) of maple syrup, or more to taste
4 pears, peeled and cored
1 cinnamon stick measuring approximately 5 cm (2”)
½ vanilla bean halved lengthwise and seeded
Zest of 1 lemon, cut into wide ribbons
2 star anises
1 piece of ginger measuring 2.5 cm (1”), sliced
60 ml (¼ cup) of whole dried cranberries
250 ml to 330 ml (1 to 1⅓ cup) of plain Greek yogurt or fresh cheese (fromage blanc, ricotta or mascarpone)
10 ml (2 tsp) of cranberry pearls, drained

Directions

In a medium saucepan, pour the cranberry juice, 500 ml (2 cups) of water and 60 ml (¼ cup) of maple syrup.
Add the pears, cinnamon, vanilla (including seeds), lemon zest, star anise and ginger.
Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the flesh of the pears is cooked yet still firm.
Add the dried cranberries. Let cool and refrigerate until the following day.
Take 250 ml (1 cup) of the cooking liquid and pour into a small pan. Add 80 ml (⅓ cup) of maple syrup. Bring to a boil and reduce by half, approximately 12 minutes.
Pass the syrup through a sieve. Let cool. Add more maple syrup to taste. Refrigerate.
When ready to serve, distribute the yogurt in individual plates. Form a nest using the back of a spoon and pour the syrup in. Drain the pears and cranberries and arrange on plates. Garnish with cranberry pearls.

Variation:

Rather than serving the pears cold, warm them up in the remaining cooking liquid.

Tips:

To core the pears, use the tip of a vegetable peeler.

Save the cooking liquid and the spicy cranberry syrup for another use, such as for a cocktail.

If vanilla bean isn’t available, replace with 7.5 ml (1½ tsp) of vanilla extract.

Recipe