Annie also shared her recipe for slow-baked pears. “The long cooking time is essential—they’re just not the same if you try to hurry the dish along,” she explained. Serve them with the best-quality store-bought ice cream or make your own. Note: The pears can also be baked with the skins on for a more rustic look.
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe green pears
- 1/2 cup water, more if needed
- 1 vanilla bean, split, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 4 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Vanilla or vanilla olive oil ice cream
- Slivered almonds (optional)
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel, halve, and remove the core from the pears.
Step 2
Place the pears, cut side up, in a baking dish and pour the water around them. Add the vanilla pod or extract to the water. Place 1 teaspoon olive oil, topped with 1 teaspoon butter, in the cored center of each pear half. Sprinkle the sugar over the pears
Step 3
Cover the baking dish (use foil if it doesn’t have its own cover) and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, checking periodically to make sure the water has not evaporated (add more water if necessary). At the end of the cooking time, the sugar and water should have just started to caramelize, and the tip of a sharp knife should easily pierce the fruit.
Step 4
Let cool slightly, then serve with vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of olive oil, some syrup from the baking dish, and a sprinkling of almonds, if desired.
Serves 4