serves 6
This is yet another variation on a honey-roasted pear recipe I stole—I mean, adapted—from the genius pastry chef Claudia Fleming of The North Fork Table and Inn. Years ago, when Claudia was the pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern and I was a newly minted freelancer for the New York Times, I helped her write her cookbook The Last Course. I think it’s a wonderful book, and not just because I had a hand in writing it. It’s because Claudia is brilliant at both technique and combining flavors, and that shines through in every recipe.
In Claudia’s original roasted pear dish, she cooks the pears in rich, dark, chestnut honey, then finishes them with butter and fresh thyme. In my version I swap out the musky honey for smoky Grade B maple syrup—Grade B is best for cooking and baking, as it’s darker and more richly flavored than Grade A. I also brown the butter, which adds an autumnal, nutty complexity.
You can serve these with whipped cream on top of pound cake, or with little crisp cookies on the side. (The Pistachio Shortbread here would be ideal.) All those things would be delightful. But all the pears really need for maximum enjoyment is a spoon. A bowl wouldn’t hurt, either.
3 almost-ripe Bosc or Anjou pears, or a mixture of the two (1½ pounds)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
⅔ cup pure maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Peel the pears and halve them lengthwise. Use a melon baller or spoon to scoop out the core.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Cook until frothy. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn a nutty brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Brown butter can burn quickly, so watch it carefully. Add the pears, cut-side down, to the pan. Cook, without moving, until the undersides are golden, about 3 minutes. Flip the pears and cook, without moving, for 3 minutes more.
4. Pour the maple syrup over the pan and drop in the cinnamon stick. Flip the pears again and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until the pears are just tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears to a plate. Return the skillet to the heat. Add the salt. Simmer over medium-high heat until the sauce is syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the lemon juice. Spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.