Pears are a secret weapon as they can be both savory and sweet, making this pairing with the butter fried sage a dessert that will literally make you lick the plate. Slowly roasted, they are served with a quick lemon curd vanilla crema, candied pecans, and fried sage leaves for an elegant dessert.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about Camine and view all her recipes, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
LEMON CREMA:
- 15 ounces plain 2% fat Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 teaspoons lemon curd
- 5 heaping tablespoons white sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
PEARS:
- 4 slightly unripe Asian Pears, washed and cut exactly in half (try to preserve the stem)
- 1 tablespoon Olive This! Single Varietal Olive Oil, mild intensity
- 2 ½ tablespoons honey
- 4 + 2 tablespoons soft salted butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons Olive This! Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar
- Pinch of salt
- 16 large fresh sage leaves (8 for roasting, 8 for frying)
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper to top pears
PECANS:
- 1 ½ cups pecan halves
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
For pecans, bring a small sauté pan to high heat. Add the butter. When just about melted add the brown sugar. Stir to dissolve for a minute. Then add the pecans to the pan. Lower heat and let them bubble, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar and butter are clear and are beginning to thicken.
Dump all onto a parchment sheet. Sprinkle with the kosher salt. When cooled a bit chop into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Stir all the crema ingredients together. Cover and let sit for about 30 minutes to give the granulated sugar time to dissolve, making the custard smooth. Will keep a week in the fridge. Can make in advance.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Core the pears. Rub gently with the olive oil. Place in a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Stir together the honey and 4 tablespoons of butter. Then melt in microwave just until melted. Only about 10 seconds. Add the balsamic and warm again so you can incorporate the butter, honey, and balsamic into a syrup. Drizzle the pears with the glaze making a special effort to fill the hole where the seeds were. Top each with a large sage leaf. Sprinkle with the cracked pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check at 25 minutes. If a sharp knife pierces all the way through without any resistance, they are baked. If not, keep checking them every 5 minutes. A harder pear will take longer.
In a small sauté pan melt the 2 tablespoons butter over high heat. Add the sage leaves and fry until crispy watching constantly and turning after you see the leaf begin to shrink. This only takes a minute or so on each side. Make sure you do get them crisp.
Serve over a slurry of the Lemon Curd Vanilla Crema and a dusting of candied pecans. Garnish with the sage leaf and a bit of the lemon zest.
©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2013-2023. All rights reserved.
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