Vegan Poached Pears with Lemon, Garlic and Cinnamon Topped with Vegan Rosemary-Scented Sauteed Onions

Yield: 6 servings

My cousin, Earl, always sends a box of those beautiful Harry & David pears to my parents and sister at Christmas. They're as pretty as a box of chocolates--I love the one foil-wrapped pear in the set--or, truthfully, even more so.

This year, when I arrived at my family's house for our annual holiday visit, I noticed that the pears were ripening quickly, so I decided to poach them.

I opted for a savory, rather than a sweet, dish. Poaching the pears in burgundy wine with lemon, garlic slices, cinnamon sticks and salt and pepper, and topping them with sauteed rosemary-scented onions proved to be the perfect combination: as beautiful and healthful as it is tasty and festive.

Pears poach in markedly different amounts of time depending on their size and degree of ripeness. Start with about 7 minutes on each side, but be prepared to poach them for twice that long if they are very firm.

Rosemary Olive Oil:
1/4 cup olive olive oil
leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Gently crush or bruise leaves in a small bowl. Add olive oil, stir to combine, and set aside.


Pears:
3 pears, halved and cored
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lemon, halved, seeded and sliced
1 cinnamon stick, halved (or 2 small sticks)
burgundy wine
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper

Rub one of the lemon slices over the cut side of the pears and place them, cut side down, into a cast iron skillet. Tuck halved lemon slices, garlic slices and cinnamon stick pieces between pears. Add enough wine to come halfway up sides of pears and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium high and bring wine to a simmer. Poach for about 7 minutes and the gently turn each pear and poach for another 7 minutes or until tender, but not falling apart. (Note: very firm and/or large pears may take twice that long to poach.) Meanwhile, make sauteed onions.


Vegan Rosemary-Scented Sauteed Onions:
1 tablespoon of the rosemary-olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
coarse sea or kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

After you have turned pears, heat rosemary-olive oil to shimmering in another skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute, stirring frequently, until they are soft and golden, adding more olive oil if needed. When onions are ready, remove them from the heat and divide among pears. Dot with additional rosemary-olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.