Recipe: Spiced Honey Poached Pears

This sweet treat uses all whole food ingredients that will satisfy your sweet tooth with zero guilt!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of water
• ¾ cup honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• 4 firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored, and halved
• ½ whole milk plain Greek yogurt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring water, honey, cinnamon stick, anise, cloves, anise, lemon, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Add pears, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Less ripe pears will need longer cooking time.
3. Gently remove pears from the liquid and set aside. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce until thickened and syrupy – about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Strain out spices and discard.
4. Remove 1-2 tablespoons of the syrup and whisk into yogurt.
5. Serve pears topped with a dollop of sweetened yogurt and dust lightly with ground cinnamon.

TIPS

1. To serve whole poached pears, carefully use a small spoon to remove the core by scooping it out from the base of the pear. Leave the stem on and increase the cooking time until tender – about 30 minutes.
2. Make one day ahead by pouring reduced syrup over pears and store in the fridge until ready to serve for a more intense flavor.