- Fresh & Cool
- Desserts
- Vegetarian
- Prep 10 min
- Cook 30 min
- Serves 4
A pot of jasmine tea, a little honey and a few patient minutes turn hard pears into something soft, fragrant and quietly impressive. Serve them warm after dinner, or cold from the fridge the next day when the flavour has had time to sink in.
Ingredients
- 4 firm pears, peeled (stalks left on)
- 1 litre water
- 3 jasmine tea bags (or 3 tbsp loose leaf tea in a strainer)
- 80 g honey
- 1 lemon: zest in wide strips, plus 2 tbsp juice
- 2 cm fresh ginger, sliced
- 1 star anise (optional)
- To serve: thick Greek yoghurt or mascarpone
Method
- Slice a thin piece off the base of each pear so it stands upright.
- In a pot just big enough to hold the pears snugly, bring the water, honey, ginger, lemon zest and star anise to a gentle simmer. Stir until the honey dissolves.
- Take the pot off the heat, add the tea bags and let them steep for 4 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
- Stand the pears in the liquid. They should be almost covered. Lay a disc of baking paper on top to keep them submerged.
- Simmer very gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tip of a knife slides in easily. Riper pears need less time.
- Lift the pears out. Boil the liquid for 8 to 10 minutes until reduced to a light syrup, then stir in the lemon juice.
- Serve the pears warm or chilled with yoghurt and a spoonful of syrup.
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