Roasted Pears
Ingredients
- 4 pears (firm, Anjou or Barlett, about 2 pounds)
- 1 T unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 T sugar
Method
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a baking sheet or broiler pan bottom on the rack, and heat the oven to 500F.
2. Peel and halve each pear lengthwise. With a melon baller, remove the core. Set each half cut-side-down and slice lengthwise into fifths.
3. Toss the pears with the melted butter; add the sugar and toss again to combine. Spread the pears in a single layer on the preheated baking sheet, making sure each slice lies flat. Roast until browned on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Flip each slice and roast until tender and deep golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
4. If making a salad with the pears, let the pears cool while preparing the salad.
Notes
SJ Note 3 Mar 2012: These didn't turn out golden brown and crispy as promised, but I'm sure at least part of that's my fault. By the time I made this, the pears were a bit soft to be called firm anymore; I halved the sugar (I was afraid it'd be too sweet, and 1T felt like the slices were well coated to me when tossing), so it didn't caramelize like it was supposed to. The oven was well and truly preheated, though, as was the baking sheet, but the pears just didn't crisp up at all, and after nearly 20 minutes of roasting seemed simply warmer versions of the sliced pears I put in to begin with. I may try this again sometime, with firmer pears and more sugar, but then again I might not. These went into a salad we didn't like; not sure what else I'd use roasted pears for, really.