Gluten Free Sweet & Spicy Poached Pears

In addition to grilled fruit, I've recently unearthed poached fruit. Let me rectify that sentence, I'm afraid the way it's worded is slightly hyperbolic. I mean: I have only poached one type of fruit so far.


Yesterday, I tried poached pears. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet and spicy flavors and the way the natural flavor of the pear was enhanced.

I poached the pears for about 35 minutes in a broth of 1/2 cup of honey, the zest and juice of half a lemon and an orange, a 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, a few dashes of cinnamon and a star anise.

Things that worked well for the dish:

• That sweet bite that lemon zest adds to the fruit
• How much softer the fruit was post-poach
• The added depth of earthiness of the star anise

Things that could have been better:

• I think the dish would have benefited from a bit of crunch, another texture

The next time I do the pears this way, I'm toying with the idea of sprinkling some brown sugar over them along with pecan pieces or something. Just to shake up the textures a bit.