Cajeta and Ginger Poached Pear

Ingredients

Yield:

4

• • 1 cups brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 cups Cajeta (Mexican Burned Goat Milk)
  • 3 Tbsp grated ginger root
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 4 firm, slightly underripe Bartlett or Bosc pears
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Vanilla Bean
  • Cinnamon for sprinkle

Preparation

Difficulty:

Medium

Time:

30 Minutes

Total Time:

1.5 Hours

1. 1. In a 4-quart slow cooker, stir together the sugar, ginger and butter. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds. Stir the seeds into the sugar, add water, cinnamon and cajeta and bring to a boil.
   2. Peel the pears carefully with a vegetable peeler and put into cajeta mix.
   3. Set the cooker to HIGH, cover, and cook for 1 hour, until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife. (Open the cooker once during the cook time and gently spoon the sauce over the top pears.) Turn the cooker off, and with a slotted spoon, remove the pears to a bowl.
   4. Pour the caramel sauce into a small sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, to keep the sauce at a simmer. Shaking the pan fairly constantly, reduce the caramel sauce by one-third of its original volume (don't let the caramel get too dark, or it will have a burnt taste), 2-3 minutes.
   5. Spoon a bit of chocolate sauce on individual plate. Place 1 pear (see ths photo). Decorate with some green leaf, it may be a mint leaf. Garnish with vanilla ice cream quenelle. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm