Caramelized Bosc Pears With Hazelnut Butter Recipes

ROASTED PEARS WITH HAZELNUT SYRUP AND CANDIED HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan simmer water with 1 cup sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. (Syrup may be made up to this point 2 days ahead and cooled completely before being chilled, covered.)
• Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly butter a shallow baking pan.
• Coarsely chop hazelnuts. Stir nuts into syrup and simmer 1 minute. With a slotted spoon transfer nuts to baking pan, arranging in one layer, and reserve syrup. Cut butter into pieces. Bake nuts in middle of oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Immediately add butter to nuts, tossing to coat and separate, and with a spatula transfer nuts to a plate to cool (nuts will crisp as they cool). (Nuts may be candied 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Reserved syrup may be kept, covered and chilled, 2 days.)
• Lightly butter a shallow ovenproof kettle or casserole dish (about 12 by 2 1/2 inches). With a sharp knife trim a very thin slice from bottom of each pear to enable pears to stand upright. Dip and roll each pear in reserved syrup to coat completely. Transfer pears as coated to kettle, standing them upright, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Add liqueur, lemon juice, and vanilla to remaining reserved syrup and pour down side of kettle or casserole.
• Roast pears, uncovered, in middle of oven until undersides are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes.
• Arrange pears on a serving platter. Spoon syrup around pears and sprinkle with candied nuts. Serve pears warm or at room temperature.

ROASTED PEARS WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer: set in the heating oven until it melts.
• Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
• Let cool slightly. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream, drizzle with caramel pan sauce, sprinkle with nuts and serve.

QUICK & EASY CARAMELIZED PEARS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add pears, one cut side down, and cook until browned, then reduce heat to medium and cook 3 minutes. Turn pears to other cut side and cook 4 minutes. Add sugar and 1 tablespoon water, swirling pan to combine. Turn pears skin side down and cook until sauce is thickened slightly, 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla and pinch of salt. Serve warm with ice cream.

CARAMELIZED BOSC PEARS WITH HAZELNUT BUTTER

Steps:

• Peel and halve the pears, leaving the stem intact on one of the halves. Set aside.
• To make the caramel, place the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds in a nonreactive, shallow, wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid. Add the cream of tartar or lemon juice and stir together until the sugar is completely moistened. Heat the mixture over medium heat, covered, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup begins to bubble. Remove the lid, increase the heat slightly and allow the syrup to boil undisturbed until it turns golden in color. Add the butter and swirl until combined and color is uniform.
• Carefully place the pear halves in the caramel, cut side down. Cook over medium heat, occasionally basting the pears with caramel, until the sauce begins to attach itself to the pears and give them color, about 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the pear halves to a small sheet tray lined with foil or parchment paper and drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce. Cool at room temperature.
• While the pears are cooling, make the hazelnut butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spread the hazelnuts on a small pan. Toast the nuts until they are lightly golden and aromatic, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, set aside 1/4 cup and transfer the remaining 1/2 cup hazelnuts to a blender or food processor. Add the olive oil, sugar and salt and blend briefly on low speed. Gradually increase the speed until a smooth paste forms, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time to achieve the right consistency, slightly looser than peanut butter. (The hazelnut butter should coat the back of a spoon.)
• To serve, lightly crush the reserved hazelnuts with the back of a sautee pan being certain to leave them coarse. Drain excess caramel from pear halves, coat them with hazelnut butter and roll in the crushed nuts. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream.