Green Tea-Poached Pears with Matcha Cream
Green tea, delicately flavored with ginger and almond, makes a delightful poaching medium for pears.
From EatingWell: Winter 2003
Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including making Matcha Cream)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Matcha Cream, (recipe follows)
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons green tea leaves, preferably sencha
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 firm, ripe Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted
Preparation
- Prepare Matcha Cream.
- Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a shallow pan or deep skillet. Stir in tea, turn off heat and let steep, covered, for 5 minutes. Pour through a cheesecloth-lined sieve to remove leaves; return tea to the pan.
- Add sugar, ginger and almond extract and bring just to a boil. Add pears, cut-side up, and poach over low heat until quite tender when pierced with a wooden skewer. Transfer to a bowl and let the pears cool in the poaching liquid.
- Serve at room temperature or chilled. Use a slotted spoon to place two pear halves in each dessert dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the poaching liquid over the pears. Serve with a generous dollop of Matcha Cream and garnish with almonds.
Tips & Notes
- To toast almonds:
- Heat a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add nuts and cook, stirring constantly, until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
Nutrition Per serving:
369 calories; 7 g fat (4 g sat, 2 g mono); 23 mg cholesterol; 94 g carbohydrates; 5 g protein; 7 g fiber; 56 mg sodium; 408 mg potassium.
4 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 2 fruit, 1/2 low-fat milk, 3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat
This recipe calls for: