Poached Ginger Pears

You can alter this basic recipe in any number of ways. Using red wine will give the pears a nice color, add different spices or use citrus, too.

Ingredients

• 2 cups white wine or apple juice
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1-2 inches freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 medium or 6 small pears, peeled and halved
• About ¾ cup mascarpone, greek yogurt or crème fraiche
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring wine or juice, water, sugar, vanilla and ginger to a boil. Add pears and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until tender when pierced by a fork. Remove pears from liquid, return liquid to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1 cup syrup. Use a spoon to core pears. To serve, place pears on a plate, drizzle with a little syrup, add a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with almonds.

Submitted by Sara Jones, Tucson CSA