Vanilla Poached Seckel Pears With Honey & Warm Spices

Since we no longer use sugar in this house (other than honey and what naturally occurs in fruits and veggies) we've had to get creative when it comes to making desserts. Luckily fall us upon us and some of the most beautiful and fragrant produce adorns the shelves of our local market. Last week I found the cutest little seckel pears. About the size of an egg, these beautiful balls of sweetness are excellent for poaching and even more perfect for satisfying my sweet tooth. 

You can easily use any variety of pears for this dish, but I particularly love the seckels not only because they are cute but because their core is to tiny you can eat the pear whole and not have to peal the skin or cut out the center. 

This dish tastes like fall but smells like Christmas. I must warn you that one whiff of the poaching liquid may give you a burning desire to turn on some old school Amy Grant Christmas albums :)

Whether you are trying to cut out sugar or just broaden your recipe repertoire you must add this dish to your collection. It is a simple yet elegant way to end a meal and enjoy the flavors of the season!

Vanilla Poached Seckel Pears With Honey & Warm Spices

(serves 4-6)

• 10-12 seckel pears, washed
• 3 whole star anise
• 6 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 cup of honey or more or less depending on how sweet you want the poaching liquid to be
• 1 vanilla bean, split seeds scraped out (save the pod!)
• water to cover

Place the whole pears in a stock pot and cover completely with filtered water. Add the spices, vanilla seeds and split vanilla pod and bring to a boil. Once at a boil reduce heat, stir in the honey and simmer until pears are very tender and the poaching liquid is very fragrant. About 30 minutes or so (I didn't time it....I just served it when the whole house started to smell like Christmas!)

When the pears are tender remove from heat and spoon some poaching liquid and two or three pears into bowls and serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Comments

[Dimitra]

I can almost smell them!...Using whole pears is a great idea. Wonderful recipe and amazing photos! May I ask, what kind of camera do you use? Thank you for all these fragrant and warm posts!...

[Annie]

Beautiful photo and yummy recipe. I too bought a few Seckel pears at the market yesterday. I live close to a wonderful pear growing area so have lots of varieties to choose from. Will give this a try. Thanks for your beautiful work.

[Alexa @ Sohdalex]

This has my mouth watering ;) How lovely! I am a sucker for pears and these sound so divine, I don't think I have ever had seckel pears before. I will have to keep an eye out for them.

[Heidi]

Lovely photos and beautiful blog you have :)

[Laken]

These look so good! I've been lingering over a recipe for champagne poached pears.. and I think this post has motivated me to try it!

[Dawn (KitchenTravels)]

They are beautiful! I've only ever seen poached pears without the skin, but I love the simplicity of this recipe and technique. Plus, the skin has such a pretty hue, even after poaching. So happy it's pear season again! xo

[ilovepom-poms]

I know how absolutely delicious this is! When I bake pears in the oven for dessert, I drizzle a little olive oil over and add some walnuts to the baking tray. Served with vanilla flavoured goat milk yoghurt no one can say no! C x

[Elizabeth]

I recently made poached pears using bosc, but I think these would be such a cute small dessert! I never had seckel pears until last year but they are another great addition to the pear world for me, so cute and tasty!

I love your photos, very beautiful.

[Anja (Savorychicks)]

Can't wait to try... this recipe sounds just too delicious! And as always, great pictures!

[Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)]

This looks so good and simple. This might be on my to-make list this weekend. Except, I might not have any star anise on hand..bummer. Will have to do without!

[Mónica Pinto]

Beautiful photos, beautiful food!
I love poached pears, love to cook them and really love to eat them.
Delicious!

[Jennifer]

Seckel pears are DIVINE~I have a roasted pear recipe that I am making with mine soon. Your poached pears look amazing!!!!

[Cara]

Yes pears yummy...but the Amy Grant Christmas album, that's worth posting about!! :) Heehee, you just made all the Christmas decor I'm ALREADY seeing around town ok with me, as long as Amy is the bringer of Christmas, I'm ok. Love keeping connected to you on your blog girl, love from San Diego <3

[Carissa@Pretty/Hungry]

I was drawn into your post because the photos are just lovely... but I was delighted to see the Amy Grant Christmas Album reference! Can't WAIT for the holidays, how about you? :)