Spiced Vanilla Poached Pears

Spiced Vanilla Poached Pears are a beautiful, elegant holiday dessert, easier to make than they look!  They are also suitable for just about any diet template.  Try your hand at them!

I’m on a mission, y’all. I want to prove to you that you can make some pretty elegant food at home – even on a healing diet like the autoimmune protocol (AIP)! I’m a big ol’ foodie, and when I decided to take on the AIP lifestyle to improve my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis symptoms, I grieved all the delicious flavors and foods I would be missing. Over time, I discovered ways to adapt those foods, and have them once again in my life.

I used to look at photos like the one above and think, “I could never make that.” Please believe me when I say that it’s not as hard as it looks! Sure, there’s a little effort involved, but what wonderful thing on this earth doesn’t involve a little effort? It’s totally doable, folks.

Vanilla products

(For full transparency, this recipe was commissioned by the good people at Singing Dog Vanilla. They are my favorite vanilla company, and I’m not just saying that.)

See those little specks on the pears? It’s not pepper. It’s real, honest to goodness vanilla, namely Singing Dog organic vanilla coconut palm sugar. There is also an organic vanilla bean used in the sauce. Don’t fret, if you are avoiding legumes. Vanilla “bean” is not actually a bean, but the pod from a certain kind of orchid.

I’ll keep this short and sweet… because December. As always, I’m wishing you great love and deep healing!

💗,

Wendi

P.S. Did you sign up for my (free!) monthly online magazine yet? Find the signup in the sidebar of my site. 😉

Spiced Vanilla Poached Pears

Recipe by Wendi’s AIP Kitchen – http://www.wendisaipkitchen.com Course: DessertCuisine: AIP, Paleo, HolidayDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Spiced Vanilla Poached Pears are an elegant dessert, easier to make than they look!  Suitable for many diet templates.  Try your hand at them!

Ingredients

• 3 cups 3 unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice

• 1 cup 1 + 2 TBSP water, divided

• 1/4 cup 1/4 honey

• 1 1 organic vanilla bean sliced down one side, but not scraped

• 1 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

• 6 6 whole cloves

• 2 TBSP 2 freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Pinch of salt

• 4 4 Bosc pears with stems (Note: Do not use Bartlett. They will fall apart.)

• 1 TBSP 1 arrowroot starch/flour

• Singing Dog organic vanilla coconut palm sugar, for garnish (and extra vanilla flavor!)

Directions

• Set a large saucepan on a piece of parchment paper.  Using the bottom of the pan as a pattern, draw a circle the size of the pan.  Cut out the circle.  Fold the circle in half, then in half again, so that you have kind of a triangle.  Cut off the tip of the triangle ½” down.  Unfold, and set aside.  This will be your “lid” with a vent.
• Place apple juice, 1 cup water, honey, vanilla bean, cinnamon, cloves, lemon juice and salt in the saucepan over medium low heat.  Stir until the honey is dissolved, and the liquid is barely simmering.
• Slice a thin slice off the bottom of each pear so they will stand when served.  Using a sharp paring knife or vegetable corer, cut out the core from the bottom of each pear.  Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler, leaving the stems on.  Carefully slide the pears into the simmering liquid on their sides.  Submerge them, and lay the parchment paper lid on top, ensuring the pears are covered by either liquid or parchment.  Simmer (don’t boil) the pears for 20 minutes, or until a paring knife inserted gets no resistance.
• Carefully remove the pears with a slotted spoon.  Strain the liquid through a fine sieve, and return to the pan.  Turn heat under the saucepan to high, and cook for 12 minutes.  Place arrowroot starch and 2 tablespoons of water in a container with a tight-fitting lid.  Shake vigorously to make a slurry.  Add to the juice mixture, and cook on high until thickened a bit.
• To serve, stand pears on individual serving plates.  Spoon spiced vanilla syrup on each pear from the top. Garnish with a sprinkle of vanilla coconut sugar.  Serve warm, or at room temperature.

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