I love this extremely easy orange and pear recipe when fresh pears are in season after a roast dinner or light luncheon. 

Ingredients

•  4 large pears, unpeeled, halved and cored
• 100 g orange-blossom honey*
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp thinly sliced orange zest
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

To serve

• 1 cup crème fraîche mixed with 1 Tbsp honey
• OR 1 cup thick plain yoghurt and 2 Tbsp orange-honey syrup
• ½ cup of roasted slithered almonds (or pistachios)

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Simmer the honey, orange juice, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over a medium heat until reduced to light syrup (8-10 minutes). Add the vanilla extract.

3. Wash the pears and place in a roasting pan with their cut side facing upwards.

4. Pour over the orange-honey mixture and roast, basting occasionally, until tender and beginning to caramelise (20-25 minutes).

5. Remove the pears from pan, and serve with crème fraîche or mascarpone and the orange honey syrup or double-thick yoghurt and honey, roasted almonds and a drizzling of the orange honey syrup.

 TIP 

* “Orange Blossom honey” is available from Peels honey, Woolies and general supermarkets and its delicate flavour enhances just about any dessert where sugar or honey is required. If you don’t have any use plain honey or 1 Tbsp each of plain honey and orange blossom water mixed with the orange juice.