Honey Roasted Pears with Quinoa Nut Crunch | TENDING the TABLEYou know that old excuse? The one about my dog eating my homework. Well, today my dog ate the carpet. But the sad thing is, it’s not just a story I’m telling you to get out of doing my homework. This really happened! Now, where there once was ugly brown carpet, there is shredded ugly brown carpet. Anders can’t stop calling Roux nasty names while I’m uncharacteristically nonchalant about the whole thing. In my mind, this is the impetus we needed to replace the stupid carpet anyways. So that’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of the week; tearing out the carpet (or what’s left of it anyways) and putting in cork flooring. Hopefully, you have better things planned. Like making these honey roasted pears with quinoa nut crunch.

Honey Roasted Pears with Quinoa Nut Crunch | TENDING the TABLEAnd here are some of my recent favorites, just because:

  1. Go see this movie! It will change the way you see the world and your place in it.
  2. Perfect fall shoes!
  3. More reasons to think twice about buying and eating meat, specifically chicken.
  4. Anders is giddy about his new carbon steel pans. He got this one and this one. He says they’re the love of his life…I’m trying not to be offended.
  5. I’ve always been a big fan of sleep, but new research shows just how important the right amount of uninterrupted sleep is.Honey Roasted Pears with Quinoa Nut Crunch | TENDING the TABLE

*Thank you to Arrow and Sage for generously providing the beautiful plates pictured above.

HONEY ROASTED PEARS WITH QUINOA NUT CRUNCH

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup puffed quinoa

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

1/4 cup cocoa nibs

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup cocchi americano

1/2 cup honey

4 semi-ripe pears

creme fraiche (optional)

honey for serving

rose petals for serving

PROCEDURE

Combine the quinoa, hazelnuts, cocoa nibs, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine the cocchi and honey in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the pears, leaving the stems on. Slice the pears in half and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

Pour  the syrup over the pears and bake for 30-40 minutes, basting the pears with more syrup as needed, until tender and beginning to caramelize around the edges.

Serve the pears with a dollop of creme fraiche, a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of the quinoa nut crunch and a few rose petals.