Roasted Pears (with Balsamic and Honey)

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

Caramelized roasted pears with balsamin 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.

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 pears. 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 pears, they will definitely get mushy.
• The best pears 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 make?

• 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 pears 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 the pears in the pan, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and roast for further 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven, drizzle each pear 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 roasted 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 with muesli.
• The roasted pears 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