Roasted Pears (with Balsamic and Honey)

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Roasted pears with balsamic and honey. Only four ingredients, but such a delight!

Caramelized roasted pears with balsamic and honey, a super easy to make dessert.

I didn’t even plan on making this recipe, it was not something that immediately caught my eye while perusing Silvena Rowe’s cookbook (Amazon affiliate link). It was a perfect fit as I had bought some rather under-ripe pears the day before and I always have butter, honey, and balsamic vinegar in the house.

So yesterday, after we finished lunch (we had these delicious German Meatballs or Königsberger Klopse again) I told my family to give me another half an hour, and then they could have dessert. A pear dessert!

What do you need?

Best pears for baking:

• Slightly underripe and large ones. This recipe is perfect for using those stone-hard pears we all buy from time to time. The roasting process softens them without making them mushy and the added honey makes them sweeter.
• Don’t use very ripe fruit, it will definitely get mushy.
• The best ones for baking would be Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc. They all retain their shape and flavor when baked or cooked.

Other ingredients: unsalted butter, honey (the clear, runny kind), and balsamic vinegar.

You will also need a cast-iron or another oven-proof heavy-bottomed pan.

How to roast pears?

• I did not change the recipe much, there was not much room for change, everything is so simple.
• What I did though was to reduce the butter quantity, I only used 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons. I did not miss the extra butter at all, the pears were perfectly delicious with less butter.
• Use unsalted butter.
• And I only use 1 heaped teaspoon of honey per half a pear because I was not in the mood of measuring half a cup of honey.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven.
• Halve and core the fruit carefully, but leave the peel on.
• Melt the butter in the pan.
• Place the pears with the cut side facing down in the pan and saute them for 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pan to the hot oven and roast for 20 minutes.
• Flip in the pan, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and roast for further 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven, drizzle each half with honey and let rest for a few minutes.
• You can garnish with a small thyme sprig, but that is not mandatory. It just looks nice.

Variations:

• Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or almonds before drizzling with honey. The caramelized, roasted nuts really add lots of flavor. About 1 teaspoon per pear half should be fine.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.

How to serve baked pears?

• Serve warm with some of the pan juices and more honey, if you wish.
• You can also add a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top or on the side.
• Drizzle with Greek yogurt or serve with strained yogurt.

What to do with leftovers?

• You will probably not have any, but just in case.
• Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
• I chop the leftovers and serve them over oatmeal, porridge, or muesli.
• They are not suitable for freezing.

We all love these simple caramelized pears, there is no doubt about that, roasted fruit is something so easy to make, yet so delicious.

I do have my fun roasting fruit, just have a look at these Honey Pears with Greek Yogurt or these Roasted Cherries with Strained Yogurt, but each time I make roasted fruit I think I actually don’t do it often enough. Roasting fruit is one of the easiest to make and healthiest desserts I can think of.

And how about trying roasted pears in a savory way?

More quick desserts:

• Stewed Plums
• Chocolate Pear Dessert
• Healthy Banana Split with Yogurt
• Apricot Trifle
• Christmas Fruit Salad
• Puff Pastry Croissants