Warm Spiced Cocoa Pears Food

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.

GINGER-SPICED PEARS

Steps:

• Put the sugar, vinegar, orange zest and juice, ginger, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, peel, core and halve or quarter the pears, depending on size. Add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 10-15 mins until they are just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack into warm sterilised Kilner jars with rubber seals (see tip below).
• Boil the vinegar mixture hard to reduce by a third, then pour over the pears, including the spices. The pears need to be completely covered with the liquid. Fit the rubber seal and clamp the jar tightly closed. Reserve any leftover syrup for topping up the jars later, as the pears will absorb the syrup over time. Store for up to 2 months.

ROASTED PEARS AND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the butter in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Drain off 3/4 of the liquids from each can ¿ pears should remain wet but not swimming in syrup. Add pears to the dish and season with lemon zest, nutmeg and crystallized ginger then roast 20 minutes. Serve warm pears with scoops of French vanilla ice cream on top, garnish with lemon twist.

WARM PEAR AND SCALLOP SALAD

Steps:

• Peel the carrots and potato. Cut the carrots, zucchini, and potato into thin strips. Core the pears and cut into 1-inch chunks. Slice the tomato into 8 slices.
• In a 12-inch skillet, combine carrots, zucchini, and potato with enough cold water to cover. Heat to boiling, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add scallops. Cook 2-3 minutes, until scallops are opaque throughout.
• Remove pan from heat. Drain and discard liquid.
• Add pears, pecans, and dressing and toss to combine.
• To serve, divide the salad greens on 4 individual serving plates. Top each with 1/4 of the scallop mixture and 2 tomato slices.

CHOCOLATE PEAR CRISP

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Chop the pears into small pieces and put in a pan with the lemon juice and sugar. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 10 mins. Uncover, then cook for 8-10 mins more until the juices thicken up. Spoon into 4 x 150ml ramekins and add a teaspoon of liqueur to each, if using.
• For the topping, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the almonds. Whisk the egg white until stiff, then fold into the dry ingredients. Spoon over the pears and shake the ramekins to level the mixture. Bake for 20-25 mins until the topping is firm to the touch. Serve warm or cold.

HOT MEXICAN SPICED COCOA

Steps:

• Mix first 4 items together, in a good sized mug.
• Add boiling water, stir till smooth.
• Heat milk for 3 minutes over LOW heat until hot.
• Stir the milk into the cocoa mixture until well mixed.
• Stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
• Enjoy--.

WARM SPICED COCOA PEARS

Steps:

• Combine cream, sugar and spices in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Place pears in medium sized crock pot.
• Place pats of butter on top of pears.
• Pour cream, sugar/spice mixture on top of pears.
• Cover and cook on high for 3 hours until tender.
• Mix well and serve.