Cardamom Pears

Warm pears flavored with cardamom and vanilla, then garnished with candied ginger. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

I had some pears I needed to use, but I didn't want to just eat them, so I looked at what else I had. I thought about the Balsamic Pears, but I kinda wanted something more along the lines of a Quick Apple Crisp or Easy Peach Cobbler. And then I saw cardamom.

Native to India and Bhutan, cardamom comes in a small triangular seed pod with a papery shell and several small dark brown/black seeds inside. Cardamom's got a strong, sweet fragrance, and a little goes a long way. A good thing, since cardamom's apparently the third most expensive spice - only saffron and vanilla cost more! You should be able to find it reasonably priced at Indian or ethnic groceries. If none is available locally, there's still Amazon! Remember, a little goes a long way, so even a small package will last quite a while. You can also use cardamom in Indian dishes, Nordic breads, garam masala, or even to flavor your coffee or chai tea.

I just served these pears with some candied ginger, but you can easily add some toasted oats and make a quick pear crisp or serve it with some vanilla ice cream. Or both :)

What's your favorite spice?

Cardamom Pears

by CJ Huang

Warm pears flavored with cardamom and vanilla, then garnished with candied ginger. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
		2 tablespoons		butter
			2	pears, cut into eighths
		2 tablespoons		brown sugar
		1/4 teaspoon		cardamom
		1 teaspoon		vanilla extract
				candied ginger, chopped

Methods:

1. Gather all materials.
2. Place butter and pears into pan, and melt butter.
3. Stir in remaining materials, cooking until pears soft and syrup thickened.
4. Garnish with candied ginger, and serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Shared with: Wonderful Wednesday, Wednesday Showcase, What's Cookin' Wednesday, Happiness is Homemade, What's for Dinner? Sunday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Over the Moon, What'd You Do This Weekend?