Baked Pears With Chocolate Sauce And Pomegranate Seeds Food

BAKED PEARS IN SPICED POMEGRANATE SYRUP

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
• In a small non-reactive sauce pan (such as stainless steel, glass, enameled or nonstick), combine the pomegranate juice and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, then add the lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and cloves.
• Arrange the pears cut side down in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour the pomegranate syrup over the pears, and place the dish in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally, until the pears are tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife. If serving hot, proceed to the next step; otherwise, cover and chill until ready to serve.
• Place the pears in shallow bowls and spoon the syrup over top. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils around the pears and garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired. Serve with fork and knife for cutting the pear, and a spoon for the syrup. (The dish may be served hot, cold or room temperature.)
• Note: Be sure to use firm, not ripe, pears. It's best to peel them with a vegetable peeler and core them with a mellon baller.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears. Cut 1/4 in. from bottom to level if necessary. Place in a large saucepan; add the water, vanilla, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until pears are almost tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Drain pears; place on dessert plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact, then take the core out from the bottom of each by using a small sharp knife or a melon baller. Flatten the bottom by slicing off a little bit so that it will sit upright when served. Put the pears into a saucepan with the zests, vanilla pod, sugar, cinnamon, white wine and 600ml water, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat and poach for about 20-25 mins until they are cooked all the way through, but are not so soft that they will fall apart. Leave to cool in the liquid. Can be made and chilled a day ahead.
• When cool, take the pears out, strain out the cinnamon, zest and vanilla pod (keep the pod, allow it to dry, then pop it into a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar), then pour the syrup back in the pan. Boil until reduced by half to a thin syrup.
• Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Warm the cream, milk and butter in a heavy based pan. Stir this into the melted chocolate, set aside and keep warm. Can be made and chilled a day ahead. If the sauce cools and thickens too much, warm it again gently over a pan of simmering water or for 30 secs in a microwave. Serve the pears with plenty of syrup, chocolate sauce and good-quality vanilla ice cream.

TRAY-BAKED MERINGUE WITH PEARS, CREAM, TOASTED HAZELNUTS AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a sheet of waxed paper.
• Put your egg whites into a squeaky clean bowl, making sure there are absolutely no little pieces of egg shell or egg yolk in them. Whisk on medium until the whites form firm peaks. With your mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and the pinch of salt. Turn the mixer up to the highest setting and whisk for about 7 or 8 minutes, until the meringue mixture is white and glossy. To test whether it's done you can pinch some between your fingers - if it feels completely smooth it's ready; if it's slightly granular it needs a little more whisking.
• Dot each corner of the waxed paper with a blob of meringue, then turn it over and stick it to the baking sheet. Spoon the meringue out onto the paper. Using the back of a spoon, shape and swirl it into a rectangle. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour or until crisp on the outside and a little soft and sticky inside. At the same time, bake the hazelnuts on a separate sheet in the oven for 1 hour or until golden brown.
• Drain the cans of pears, reserving the syrup from 1 can. Cut each pear half into 3 slices. Pour the pear syrup into a saucepan with the ginger, if using, and warm gently over a medium heat until it starts to simmer. Take off the heat and snap the chocolate into the saucepan, stirring with a spoon until it's all melted.
• Take the meringue and hazelnuts out of the oven and leave to cool. Place the meringue on a nice rustic board or platter. Whip the cream with the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla seeds until it forms smooth, soft peaks. Smash the toasted hazelnuts (in a kitchen towel) and sprinkle half of them over the top of the meringue. Spoon half the whipped cream over the top and drizzle with some of the chocolate sauce (if the sauce has firmed up, melt it slightly by holding the saucepan over a large pan of boiling water). Divide most of the pear pieces evenly over the top. Pile over the rest of the whipped cream and pears. Drizzle with some more chocolate sauce, then sprinkle over the remaining toasted hazelnuts with some grated orange zest. Serve straightaway. If you're making this in advance, get everything ready and assemble at the last minute.

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Steps:

• Refrigerate the pomegranates (not required, but it helps).
• Remove all the seeds and place them in a colander.
• Gently rinse the seeds, then lay them out on paper towels to let them dry.
• Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on a a cookie sheet which will fit inside your refrigerator.
• Melting the chocolate the easy way: put the chocolate chips in a glass container (I'd use my big 4-cup Pyrex measuring thingy) and microwave them until they're melted, stirring occasionally; don't overdo it, though- you don't want the chocolate to burn or get tough.
• Melting the chocolate another way: in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips (if you don't have a double boiler a metal or oven-safe glass dish over boiling water works too); stir constantly while melting so you don't scorch the chocolate.
• Add the pomegranate seeds to the melted chocolate (making sure the seeds are not wet on the surface, or else the chocolate can seize) and fold gently with rubber spatula until the seeds are thoroughly covered, then spoon out globs of the mixture, whatever size you like, on to the wax paper.
• Place the wax papered cookie sheet in the refrigerator and let the chocolate-covered seeds cool overnight (or for as long as you can stand before tasting them).
• Keep refrigerated- they should keep for 3-4 days, at least, although I doubt they'll last that long once you taste them.
• Enjoy!

BAKED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and place, cut side up, in a baking dish. Place 1 piece of margarine in the core cavity of each pear. Add water to dish and bake pears until tender, about 1 hour, basting with water one halfway through. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Slice each pear lengthwise into thin slices and fan out on dessert plates.
• Heat chocolate and half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a large spoon, drizzle chocolate sauce decoratively over pear slices. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND ICE CREAM (A.K.A. "POIRE BELLE HELENE")

Steps:

• Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add both the seeds and the pod to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Peel the pears. Reduce the poaching liquid to a simmer and add the pears. Cook until just tender (the tip of a paring knife will go through the flesh of a pear with just a little resistance), about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the pears in the poaching liquid, until completely cooled, about 45 minutes.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Put the chocolate and butter into a medium-size bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.
• Serve the pears with a scoop of ice cream, a little pear-poaching syrup and warm chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. Garnish with a wafer cookie and serve.

EASY BAKED PEARS WITH AMARETTI

Steps:

• Cut each pear in half, then place on a large baking tray. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the cores and make a dip in the centre of each pear. If your pears are firm, you may need to use a sharp knife to do this. Dollop about 1 heaped tsp ricotta into each dip, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and drizzle with a little honey.
• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5, then roast the pears for 10 mins. Tip the biscuits into a food bag and use a rolling pin to lightly crush them. Remove the pears from the oven, then scatter the crumbs over each pear. Return to the oven for another 10 mins or until the pears are soft and the biscuit golden brown. Serve drizzled with honey.

BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place pear halves, cut side up, in a shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Place butter in the center of each; drizzle with lemon juice. , Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over pears. Top with marmalade. Bake, covered, until heated through, 15-20 minutes.

SPICED PEARS AND POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Place the sliced pears and pomegranate seeds into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small cup or bowl, then mix into the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to blend the flavors. Serve in individual dishes, and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped almonds and a sprig of mint.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.