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Green Tea-Poached Pears with Matcha Cream

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/green_tea_poached_pears_with_matcha_cream.html

From EatingWell:  Winter 2003

Green tea, delicately flavored with ginger and almond, makes a delightful poaching medium for pears.

4 servings | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including making Matcha Cream)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Matcha Cream, (recipe follows)
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons green tea leaves, preferably sencha
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 firm, ripe Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted

Preparation

1. Prepare Matcha Cream.
2. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a shallow pan or deep skillet. Stir in tea, turn off heat and let steep, covered, for 5 minutes. Pour through a cheesecloth-lined sieve to remove leaves; return tea to the pan.
3. Add sugar, ginger and almond extract and bring just to a boil. Add pears, cut-side up, and poach over low heat until quite tender when pierced with a wooden skewer. Transfer to a bowl and let the pears cool in the poaching liquid.
4. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Use a slotted spoon to place two pear halves in each dessert dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the poaching liquid over the pears. Serve with a generous dollop of Matcha Cream and garnish with almonds.

Nutrition

Per serving : 369 Calories; 7 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 23 mg Cholesterol; 94 g Carbohydrates; 5 g Protein; 7 g Fiber; 56 mg Sodium; 408 mg Potassium

4 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 2 fruit, 1/2 low-fat milk, 3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• To toast almonds:
• Heat a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add nuts and cook, stirring constantly, until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.