Chamomile Tea Poached Pears

Pears are my husband's favorite fruit, so this post is dedicated to him. When he was growing up, his grandmother had pear trees growing on her farm and one of his fondest memories of visiting her during the fall season was climbing the pear trees and eating the pears. Sometimes they were not quite ripe and he would get a stomachache, but to this day pears are still his favorite fruit!

Ingredients:

4 cups boiling water

4 tbsp organic chamomile flowers

¼ cup raw sugar

2 bosc pears (peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each)

2 cinnamon sticks, optional

2-4 whole star anise, optional

Heavy cream or vanilla custard for serving.

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil in an enamel saucepan or glass teapot. Remove from heat and add chamomile flowers.

Let steep for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Add the sugar to the tea and stir to dissolve.

Pour the tea mixture into a medium stainless or enamel saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add the pear wedges, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. Bring the liquid to a slow boil.

Lower the heat and let the pears simmer for about 15 minutes until pear wedges are tender but not overly soft. Remove pears from the cooking liquid using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Raise the cooking temperature to medium and let the tea reduce for about 5 minutes, leaving the cinnamon sticks and anise in the liquid.

Gently arrange the pear wedges in serving bowls. Spoon a little of the reduced liquid over the pears.

Serve with heavy cream or vanilla custard. Sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon if desired.