This major update of a classic dessert uses rooibos tea instead of a sugary syrup as the poaching liquid. The pears become rich and caramel-y, and as a bonus, you can drink the pear-infused tea with the dessert! The sauce is a mind-blowing combination of raw chocolate and olive oil, a rich and silky match made in heaven. You don’t even need a stove to make this one just whisk the ingredients together for an instant yet sophisticated sauce.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup /15 g loose-leaf rooibos tea or 8 rooibos tea bags
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or raw honey
- 4 firm, ripe pears (about 6 ounces / 175 g; Bosc and Conference varieties are the best for poaching)
- Raw chocolate olive oil sauce
How to Make It
- Bring 4 cups / 1 liter water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the tea, remove the pan from the heat, and let it steep for at least 15 minutes (the longer the better). Strain out the leaves or remove the tea bags. Sweeten the tea with the maple syrup. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a simmer.
- Peel the pears and slice them in half lengthwise (remove the hard core). Slide the pears into the sweetened tea and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Pour chocolate sauce onto the center of each plate. Carefully remove the pears from the tea, and put 2 halves on each pool of sauce. Drizzle more sauce into the hollow center of each half. Serve warm.