Golden Poached Pears

Thank you, chef Nadia Lim, for this beautiful recipe!  I tweaked it a little and added some mead - and it smells so good! I made this for my daughter's birthday and made it 5 days ahead.  There are several recipes for poached pears - most of them are poached in red wine and they come out looking red.  I saw the picture of these and realized they were poached in golden syrup - so I called them golden poached pears.  Make sure when you buy the pears they are all of uniform size and will sit up straight in a pot.

The good thing about them is you can make them in advance and bring it out on the day and they look spectacular.

Ingredients:

6 pears ( I used Williams)

3/4 cup golden syrup

2 cups golden mead (optional - if you don't have it, then use 2 cups water instead)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

20 grams unsalted butter

To serve:

1/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted

1 cup mascarpone cheese

Method:

In a deep saucepan that can fit 6 pears, add the golden syrup first and gently boil for a few minutes in low flame till it turns dark brown.

While the syrup is being caramelized, get a peeler and peel the pears.  Make a cut at the base of each pear so it can sit straight in the pan.  Keep aside.

Meanwhile, when the golden syrup turns deep brown in colour, add the mead and the water gently. Next add the vanilla essence.

Mix well.  Sit the pears inside the pot and cover the pot 3/4 of the way and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes or till cooked through.  

Make sure you turn the pears around every 15 minutes or so so that they turn golden all around. 

Once the pears are cooked, remove them on to a platter.  Add the salt to the syrup and cook it till thickens.    This takes about 15 minutes on low flame.

When the syrup gets thick, add the butter, turn off the flame and mix well till glossy.

To serve, place pear in  a serving dish, pour caramel sauce, decorate with toasted almond flakes and a dollop of mascarpone cheese.