Citrus For All Seasons
Growing outside your Hardiness Zone
This recipe, shared with us by Edible Maine, is loosely adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s and Sami Tamimi’s cookbook Jerusalem. We increase the number of pears and double the poaching liquid so there is plenty left over for pear-and-blue-cheese salads and lemony mocktails.
Ingredients
- 6 medium Bosc pears
- 15 cardamom pods
- 1 bottle white wine
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 2 large pinches saffron
- The zest of 2 lemons removed in thin strips
Preparation
Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact. Cut off the very bottom of the pears so that they can stand up straight on a flat surface. Use a melon baller to remove the core from the bottom of the pears. Crush the cardamom pods.
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan with 3 cups of warm water, bring to a simmer, and gently poach the pears for about 2 hours or until tender. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight to steep.
Before serving, transfer 4 pears to wide soup bowls and set aside to bring to room temperature.
Boil the saffron syrup until reduced by half, 12–15 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of syrup over each pear, then serve with a little heavy cream poured over the top of the pear. Store the leftover poached pears in the remaining syrup for up to a week.
About this recipe
recipe adaptation: Christine Burns Rudalevige | photography: Derek Bissonnette
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