Cranberry Poached Pears

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 15 min

Total:  25 min, plus optional few hours to soak

Ingredients

4 pears, peeled, leaving stem intact
1 cinnamon stick
4-5 strips of orange rind
4-5 strips of lemon rind
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. honey or agave
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 green tea bag
3-4 cups water

Directions

1. Arrange pears so that they fit snugly into a pot. Remove and set aside.
2. Add sugar, cinnamon stick, citrus rind, honey, lemon juice and 1 cup water to the pot. Stir on low heat, allowing the sugar and honey to melt.
3. Place pears, cranberries and teabag into the pot and add enough water to just cover them. Simmer for 10 minutes, until pears are tender. Remove them from the pot using a slotted spoon. Continue to boil liquid until it reduces to a medium-thick syrup.
4. To turn the pears pink, simply return them to the pot once the syrup has formed. Allow to soak in the liquid for a few hours. This step is optional.
5. Serve pears, at room temperature in individual bowls, with some cranberry syrup and either plain or with a spoonful of yogurt.

Lightly adapted from marthastewart.com