Roasted Pears With Hazelnut Syrup And Candied Hazelnuts Recipes

PAN-ROASTED PEARS WITH HONEY, HAZELNUTS AND STILTON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Place the nuts between 2 kitchen towels and rub to remove as much skin as possible. Coarsely chop the nuts and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a medium-size cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook until caramelized on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the honey to the skillet. When the honey melts, turn the pears to coat them on both sides. Cover and cook until the pears are tender but not too soft, about 5 minutes.
• Cut each pear half across into 1/4-inch-thick slices, but keep the shape intact. Place each pear half onto 1 plate and fan it forward. Place a piece of Stilton beside the pears and scatter each plate with some of the hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

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.

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.