
Pears in Mint and Tea
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 large lemons
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 firm Bartlett pears (about 2 pounds) peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
- 1 black tea bag (orange pekoe or another tea to your liking)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
- ⅓ cup shreddedfresh mint leaves plus6 whole sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- I usually use Bartlett pears in this recipe, but you can use another variety. It took 15minutes for the wedges of pear to cook when I last prepared this recipe, but they may be tender in half the time if very ripe, or they may take up to 25minutes if they are less so. Test them occasionally as they cook with the point of a knife or a fork. Remove them from the heat as soon as they are tender and let them cool in their own juices.Pour the water into a medium saucepan. With a vegetable peeler, remove the lemon peel in long strips and add them to the saucepan. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the saucepan. Add the sugar and mix to combine.Place the pear wedges in the saucepan. Add the black tea bag and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pear pieces are tender when pierced with the point of a knife or with a fork. Remove from the heat.Immediately add the dissolved cornstarch to the saucepan and stir it into the juices to thicken them slightly. Let the pears cool in the syrup.When ready to serve, remove the tea bag and discard. Stir the mint gently into the syrup. Divide the pears among six plates (4 wedges per plate). Spoon some of the syrup over the pears, garnish with the mint sprigs, if desired, and serve.
Notes
You may use a mint-flavored herbal tea bag instead of fresh mint. Add it to the saucepan along with the black tea bag and remove and discard both tea bags before serving.