Roasted Pears with Raspberry Coulis, Chocolate, and Pistachios

Preparation time: 3 minutes	4 servings
Cooking time: 27 minutes	172 calories per serving, 27.3% from fat
RealAge effect if eaten 12 times a year:	RealAge-effect ingredients:
Can chocolate make you younger? You bet—as long as it is real (cocoa-based) chocolate and you eat it first! The RA factor for this delicious bit of paradise: at least 2.6 days younger.	Pears, grape juice, berries, pistachios, chocolate (antioxidants, healthy fats, potassium, fiber)

ingredients

2 large Bartlett, Comice, or Anjou pears, preferably red

1 cup white grape juice, such as Welch’s brand

1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed, or 2 cups fresh raspberries

2 tablespoons mini-chocolate chips (from cocoa—real chocolate, not milk chocolate)

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios, toasted

Mint sprigs (optional)

preparation

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each pear in half; remove core with a melon baller or metal measuring teaspoon. Arrange pears, cut sides down, in a shallow baking dish. Pour grape juice over pears. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until pears are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Meanwhile, purée raspberries in food processor; strain and discard seeds. Transfer roasted pears to serving plates, cut sides up; sprinkle chocolate chips over the pears (the heat of the pears will melt the chips). Combine puréed raspberries and liquid remaining in baking dish in a small saucepan. Cook over high heat until sauce has reduced to ¾ cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon sauce over and around pears; sprinkle with pistachios and garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

substitutions: If you have champagne or white wine and not white grape juice, then use it without fear, and with a teaspoon of sugar. Sliced toasted almonds or chopped hazelnuts may replace pistachios, and blackberries or strawberries may replace raspberries.

tips: Toast the pistachios by baking them at 350 degrees for approximately 6 minutes. Using mini-chocolate chips makes the chocolate flavor go further by packing in the most chips per tablespoon.

nutritional analysis

Total fat (g) 5.2	Sodium (mg) 7	Vitamin A (RE) 14
Fat calories (kc) 47	Calcium (mg) 45	Beta-carotene (RE) 50
Cholesterol (mg) 0	Magnesium (mg) 32	Vitamin C (mg) 15
Saturated fat (g) 1.4	Zinc (mg) 0.4	Vitamin E (mg) 0.9
Polyunsaturated fat (g) 0.7	Selenium (mcg) 2	Thiamin B1 (mg) 0.1
Monounsaturated fat (g) 2.6	Potassium (mg) 344	Riboflavin B2 (mg) 0.1
Fiber (g) 4.9	Flavonoids (mg) 0	Niacin B3 (mg) 0.7
Carbohydrates (g) 31.8	Lycopene (mg) 0	Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.15
Sugar (g) 24.0	Fish (oz) 0	Folic acid (mcg) 24
Protein (g) 2.7	Nuts (oz) 0.2	Vitamin B12 (mcg) 0