Poached Pears with Port Wine Chocolate Sauce

Poached Pears with Port Wine Chocolate Sauce

Serves 4

 
Poached Pears with Port Wine Chocolate Sauce is an impressive dinner-party dessert that is high-fiber to boot! This luscious dessert offers 42% of your RDA for fiber is just one chocolatey serving!

 

What You’ll Need:

A Deep Sauce Pot With A Cover (About 4 Quarts)

A Grapefruit Knife & Spoon

A Soft Fruit Peeler

A Smaller Sauce Pot

A Slotted Spoon Or A Small Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer

Measuring Cups & Spoons

A Small Bowl

A Whisk

A Plate

Serving Platter or Individual Plates

Kitchen Spoon

 

Ingredients:

4 Pears, Just Barely Ripe (Bosc or Anjou), Cored From The Bottom

 

Poaching Liquid:

4 Cups Port

1/4 Cup Agave Nectar

2 Cinnamon Sticks

 

Port Wine Chocolate Sauce:

1 Cup Poaching Liquid

1/4 Cup Organic Raw Cocoa Powder

2 Tblsps Agave

1 Tsp Arrowroot

1 Tsp Water

1 Tblsp Walnut Oil

Gold Leaf Sprinkles

 

How To Put It Together:

1) In your deep sauce pot, add the port, the agave nectar & the cinnamon sticks. Place the pan on medium-high heat & cover it. While it heats up start on your pears.
 
2) Starting at the top of the pear, carefully peel the pears, leaving the stem in tact & set them on a plate.
 
3) When the poaching liquid is boiling, turn the heat down to medium. Remove the lid & carefully place the pears in the simmering wine mixture. Cover the pot & poach them for about 15 – 20 minutes, testing them frequently after the 15 minute mark, if they are not done. Just by pricking them with a small knife on the underside, you will be able to tell — they should be firm-soft, thus not mushy. Always shoot for under-cooking them & you’ll be fine.
 
4) With a slotted or stainless steel mesh strainer, transfer the pears from the pot to a plate and set the plate aside for now. Scoop about a cup of the poaching liquid into your smaller pot, reserving the rest f the poaching liquid for another use. Whisk in the raw cocoa powder & the agave nectar & place the pot over medium heat.
 
5) In your small bowl, whisk together the arrowroot & the water into a slurry. Pour the slurry into the pot, stirring constantly. Allow the pot to come to a simmer, stirring occasionally, keeping a close eye on it. You will see the sauce begin to thicken. Once you have achieved an emulsified consistency, add your walnut oil to the pot & give it a good stir. This will give the port wine chocolate sauce a slight nutty flavor and a beautiful gloss. Cover the pot & turn the heat off.
 
6) Place your pears on a serving platter or on individual dessert plates. Spoon about a quarter cup of sauce over each pear, scooping the sauce up from the plate as well, so that you completely cover each pear in glistening chocolate sauce. Sprinkle each pear with gold leaf, then sprinkle the plate (or plates) as well.
 
7) Serve & Enjoy!
 

Nina’s Tasty Tips:

1) The left over poaching liquid can be frozen and used later to poach apple slices or to make another batch of chocolate sauce. it’s wonderful to dip strawberries, raspberries, apples — really any kind of fruit in…Healthy Chocolate fondue!

2) When shopping for pears, keep in mind that pears ripen from the inside out. The pears should be firm on the outside. The pears are ripe when you can just barely wiggle the stem.

 

Nutrition:

• 365 Calories

• 4 grams of Protein

• 58 grams of Total Carbohydrates

• 36 grams of Sugar

• 10 grams of Fiber

• 7 grams of Total Fat

• 2 grams of Saturated Fat

• 0 grams of Trans Fat

• 0 mg of Cholesterol

• 21 mg of Sodium

• 12% RDA Vitamin C

• 11% RDA Vitamin K

• 9% RDA Copper

• 9% RDA Manganese

• 8% RDA Potassium

• 5% RDA Magnesium

• Glycemic load: 18