DIGESTIVE POACHED PEARS

6 pears, 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 6 whole ripe pears, peeled, stems in-tact

• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

• 2 whole cloves

• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, freshly ground

• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp of dry powdered ginger if kapha or mucus present)

• 4-5 dates, pitted, chopped

• 1/2 tsp orange zest

• juice of 1 whole orange

• 2 tsp maple syrup

• 2 tsp ghee

• Pinch of salt

• 1-2 tsp arrowroot flour, mixed with 1 tbsp room temperature water (optional to make the sauce thicker)

• Toasted coconut flakes (optional for serving)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the pears and place them in a large pot with 1 inch water over medium heat.

2. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, dates, orange zest, orange juice, maple syrup, ghee, and salt (everything except the arrowroot flour).

3. Cover partially (with the lid half on) and allow to simmer until the pears are tender (about 15-20 minutes).

4. Remove the pairs from the pot with a slotted spoon once tender. Reduce the heat to medium/low to thicken the glaze.

5. In a small bowl, mix the water and arrowroot flour. Add the arrowroot powder slurry to the pot with the liquid and stir until the glaze is thickened and can coat the back of the spoon.

6. Drizzle the glaze over the poached pears and serve with optional toasted coconut flakes.

Recipe adapted from Eat. Taste. Heal. Cookbook

#breakfast #dessert #kidfriendly #vata #pitta #kapha #fall #winter

Notes

• This is for when you want to be fancy for either a dessert or a light breakfast.

• For pittas: you can go lighter on the spice, perhaps take out the clove and reduce the amount of fresh ginger used.

• Cooking the pears with these spices makes them more digestible, especially in the cool dry weather - the heat from cooking and spices helps to antidote the pears cooling properties for fall.

• A note on pears: never eat a raw pear when mucus is present. It is better to cook them like this as they will turn into a lung tonic (strengthener) that can help to expel the excess mucus for the lungs AND digestion. If mucus is present, you can even add a bit of cracked black pepper to help to dry it up.