Cake is festive. Cookies are fun. Fruit for dessert seems like a punishment. Yes, a bowl of berries is elegant and virtuous, but my heart drops unless there’s a little piece of pound cake next to it. I’m not alone; my busy teens will linger at the dinner table a few moments longer if they are enticed (bribed) with a sweet treat. So how do I square a desire for healthy eating with a love of indulgence?
With poached pears. They’re warm and rich and evoke cake-eating emotions, without any added fat or refined sugar. Best of all, the slow cooker does the heavy lifting, so you can make it without a second thought on a busy weeknight.
Start with firm pears that are this close to being ripe. You want to err on the side of firmness, rather than choosing pears that are too soft. Use a potato peeler to quickly strip away the skins. Leave the stems on; nature's handle makes it easy to swoop the cooked pears out of the slow cooker.
Pour enough liquid into your slow cooker to cover the bottom of the pears by a half-inch. Any fruit juice will do, but I like the sweet-tart notes of no-sugar-added apple juice. I actually used two juice boxes that were left over from my toddler nephew’s visit. You don’t have to use fussy ingredients to make this fancy-looking dessert. Just know that the pears will soak up the flavors of the liquid, so apple cider will work, but wine will make your pears taste too boozy.
Then add a generous splash of pure vanilla extract to the poaching juice. Vanilla is the reason the poached pears taste like a pastry. As a bonus, the scent will linger in your kitchen, making your house smell like freshly baked cookies. A quick squeeze of fresh lime juice adds a tangy brightness that keeps the pears from becoming cloyingly sweet.
Cook the pears on high for an hour and a half. If you have time, carefully pour the hot poaching juice into a small saucepan and reduce it for a slightly thicker serving sauce. Or skip the finishing touches and serve your pears straight out of the slow cooker. In either case, you’ll be rewarded with a healthy dessert, whose complex flavor tastes far more complicated than its four simple ingredients.
Once you get into the habit of poaching pears, you may want to include them in other meals. Make an unexpected fall salad by serving poached pears, caramelized onions and low-fat blue cheese crumbles on a bed of mixed greens. Or enjoy your pears at breakfast with a bowl of fat-free Greek yogurt and a handful of granola. Poached pears pair nicely with Brie; put the two together as an appetizer, or even in an elaborate grilled cheese sandwich. When it comes to decadent cravings, who is going to judge you for indulging in a little fruit?
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