Poached Orange Maple Pears with Raspberries and Almond Cream
Serves 6-8

Please enjoy something from our White Lotus kitchen by chef Beatrix Rohlsen.

Ingredients:

3-4 pears, not too ripe, cut in half and cored
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup maple syrup
Fresh ginger, finely grated (optional)
Cinnamon, sprinkled lightly (optional)

Raspberries
1 cup fresh or frozen thawed raspberries
(Add 2 teaspoons honey, when frozen berries are used)

Sauce
Juice from pears, heated
2 teaspoons arrowroot mixed in 1/8 cup of cold water

Almond Cream
¼ cup slivered almond
¼- ½ cup water or soy milk
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe:

Put almonds in blender and pulverize. Add ¼ cup liquid and blend again. Add maple syrup and vanilla, blend. If the sauce is too thick add a little more liquid. Pour in pitcher and cool in refrigerator until ready to use. The sauce will thicken a little more when chilled.

Put pear halves in baking dish, cut side up. Drizzle orange juice and maple syrup over pears. If you are using ginger, add it to the orange juice. Sprinkle some cinnamon onto the pears.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375F for about 40 minutes.
Drain juice into small pot, set aside. Put pears, uncovered, back into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes more. Let cool.

Heat juice, bring to a boil and stir in arrowroot. Turn down heat and let simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat.

Prepare each pear on a dessert plate.
Spoon raspberries onto plate, Set half pear over raspberries.
Pour sauce onto pear, then drizzle some almond cream over it.
Top with a ¼ teaspoon raspberries.

It’s an easy - beautiful - delicious and healthy dessert.