Pears go glamour: poached with spices and served with orange butter

Pears, often considered the humble cousins of apples, shine with their own talents and  have a lot more to offer than meets the eye.

Provided with a delicate aroma and natural sweetness, they are one of the most versatile fruits.

Today I would like to  present them with a touch of glamour.

Poached in spiced syrup and served with a delicate orange butter they show their real star quality at summer parties.

Ingredients:

6 pears

1 lemon

the zest of 1 orange

the zest of 1 lemon (I used lime, because lemon is hard to get in Peru)

water

600g sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 star anise

4 cloves

mint leaves for the decoration

Orange butter:

500ml of freshly pressed orange juice

3 spoonful of caster sugar

140g ice cold butter, cut in small cubes

3 spoonful of Cointreau

Method:

Peel the pears, leave the stem.

Peel the orange and lemon carefully with a zester (without the white part of the  peel because it gives a bitter flavor)

In a large pot, put water, sugar, the orange and lemon peels and the spices. Boil up, then lower temperature and let simmer.

Add the peeled pears.

Let simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until pears are soft.

Set aside and let the pears cool down in the syrup.

Orange butter:

In a small pot bring the orange juice and sugar to a boil, then let simmer until the liquid is reduced to about a third.

Set aside and one by one add the ice cold butter cubes, stirring constantly until dissolved 

and the mixture gets a creamy and shiny texture.

Add Cointreau and stir again.

Place the poached pear on the orange butter and decorate with a mint leave and orange zest.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!

See you next week!