Poached Pears with a Raspberry Reduction GF SCD

A few months back we had a fruit bowl overflowing with pears and for a quick dessert my daughter made poached pears quite similar to this recipe. I was reminded of how we had all enjoyed them when I was out shopping this weekend. The conference pears looked so beautiful I decided to buy a few and make her recipe for you all to try.

Of course you can use any pears but make sure they are ripe AND still firm. I made these to eat straight away but if you leave them in the liquid overnight the colour will be much deeper and richer. The ones below were left for 24 hours.

Poached Pears with a Raspberry Reduction GF SCD 

4 - 6 pears
400 g frozen or fresh raspberries
1½ pints filtered water
2 tblsps honey (or other sweetener)
½ - 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 split vanilla pod

Tip the raspberries into a pan. Peel the pears carefully.

Place in a pan on top of the raspberries then add just enough filtered water to cover them.

Add 1 tablespoon of honey, bring to the boil then simmer very gently for about  fifteen to thirty minutes depending on the size of the pears. Test to see if they are soft by inserting a sharp knife carefully into the pear. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pears from the pan. They will be pink. If you want them to be a richer colour just let the pears cool in the pan, then chill overnight. This will intensify the colour and flavour as in the picture above.

Strain the raspberries then pour the liquid into a clean pan. Add the sliced vanilla pod or the vanilla extract and another tablespoon of honey (or chosen sweetener) to the pan. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquid by at least half to thicken it. I used just over half a teaspoon of vanilla extract but taste the sauce and add a little more vanilla extract and/or sweetener if you wish.

Remove the vanilla pod if you used one then pour the sauce over the pears.

Serve with a few raspberries.

This would also be lovely served with fresh cream or vanilla yogurt cream or ice cream.