Roasted Pears with Orange Maple Sauce

Somehow, even after after a heavy meal, most of us still find room for dessert. Me included! But I don't like feeling overstuffed, so I prefer something lighter, made with fruit, rather than a hunk of cake or pie.

I made these roasted pears recently -- the recipe is very easy and only has a few ingredients. It's a perfect finale to a Hanukkah meal, which tends to include lots of rich dairy foods and fried everything. You can make the pears a day ahead and stuff the hollows with whipped cream or ice cream, just before serving.

For us, the big Hanukkah meal is always a roasted goose with all the trimmings -- braised red cabbage, potato latkes -- the works! Roasted pears for dessert, for sure! Plain. Maybe with sorbet.

Roasted Pears with Orange-Maple Sauce

• 3 large ripe Bartlett pears
• half a lemon
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1-1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ice cream, whipped cream or sorbet

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the pears, cut them in half and remove the inner core and seeds. Rub the surface with the cut half of a lemon. Place the pear halves in a baking dish just large enough to hold them so they don’t tip over. Mix the juice, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract and spoon over the pears. Roast for about 25-30 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the pears are tender. Remove the pears and let them cool. Serve the pears with the pan juices and ice cream, whipped cream or sorbet if desired. (If the pan juices seem too thin, pour the liquid into a small saucepan, cook on high heat for a minute or so or until syrupy. Set aside to cool.)

Makes 6 servings

Baked Pears

Did you ever wonder where cinnamon came from? I don’t mean the place, I mean the plant. I knew that it was produced from tree bark, but never would have recognized the tree.

Well, here it is. A guide showed this tree to us as we walked through the magnificent Botanical Garden in the Seychelles. A cinnamon tree!

It makes sense that one of our most used and most beloved spices comes from something so regal, magnificent, stately. 

Not only is the tree a beauty to behold, but it’s fragrant as well. Scratch the surface with a finger and there’s no mistaking what it is.

In the Seychelles you can buy thick pieces of cinnamon bark in most markets. Our guide told us that cinnamon sticks, which don’t have the crusty, rugged surface, are taken from the young limbs of the tree. The bark, apparently, has several kinds of medicinal benefits. But the sticks, as most of us know, make all sorts of food taste wonderful.

Like these baked pears, a warm, sweet-scented, lovely-looking dessert.

Baked Pears

4 large ripe pears

half a lemon

1 cup red wine

1 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

pinch of salt, optional

crushed amaretti cookies, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the pears, cut them in half and remove the cores. Rub the cut surface with the lemon half, reserving the lemon. Place the pears in a baking dish. In a saucepan, combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, salt and the half lemon. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, cook for two minutes and remove the pan from the heat. Let the mixture cool for 2-3 minutes. Strain the liquid and pour it over the pears. Cover the baking dish and bake the pears for 20 minutes, basting them once or twice. Uncover the dish and bake for another 10 minutes, basting once or twice, or until the pears are tender. Let the pears cool slightly. Serve topped with pan juices and crushed amaretti cookies. Makes 4-8 servings

Baked Stuffed Pears

We finished all the baked apples I made the other day. And not only did I miss having one for dessert last night, I missed the sugary floral fragrance of baking fruit.

Unfortunately I didn’t have an apple left.

But — pears do just as well.

Like these:

BAKED STUFFED PEARS

6 firm pears

1/2 lemon

2/3 cup chopped almonds

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons softened butter, maragrine or coconut oil

2 tablespoons raisins or currants

1-1/2 tablespoons dark rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup water

ice cream, sorbet or sweetened mascarpone cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel, halve and core the pears. Rub the surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Place the halves in a baking dish, cut side up. In a small bowl, combine the almonds, sugar, butter, raisins, rum, vanilla and almond extracts and mix ingredients until they are evenly distributed. Place equal amounts of the stuffing into the core of each pear. Add the water to the dish. Cover and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover, baste 2-3 times and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until tender, basting occasionally. Serve plain or with ice cream or sweetened mascarpone cheese. 

Makes 6 servings.