Poached Pears with Minted Yoghurt Recipe

One of my favourite moments from my holiday was having dinner with my family each night! I love sitting down together, at the table, to enjoy our food and to talk about our day. So I decided to put together a healthy poached pear dessert recipe you can share with someone special to you — your partner, a friend or family. 

I think fruit is a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth, and pears are so delicious and sweet when they are in season! They make a great dessert-for-breakfast if you make this pear chia seed pudding!

Poached Pears With Minted Yoghurt

If you've never tried poached pears before, you are definitely in for a treat. They are so sweet and delicious — topped with the minted yoghurt and marmalade just adds a whole new dimension of flavours!

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Total time: 75 mins
Serves: 2
Dietary preferences: Vegetarian, Gluten-free

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe pears
• 500ml water
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1cm piece of ginger, peeled
• ¼ cinnamon stick
• 1 whole clove
• mint leaves, to garnish

 Orange marmalade

• 1 Valencia orange, washed and chopped
• ½ tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp honey

 Minted yoghurt

• 60g low-fat plain yoghurt
• 4-5 fresh mint leaves, finely sliced

Method:

1. Peel the pears and sprinkle with a little lemon juice to prevent the pears from browning while you prepare the poaching liquid.

2. Place the orange zest and juice, ginger, cinnamon stick, clove and 500ml of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
 
3. Place the pears in the saucepan, ensuring that the pears are completely covered with the liquid. Add more water if needed.
 
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 18-20 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Remove from the heat. Leave the pears to cool in the poaching liquid for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and cut the pears in half.
 
5. To make the orange marmalade, place the orange into a high-powered blender or food processor and pulse until slightly chunky. Whisk the arrowroot, water and lemon juice together until smooth. Place the orange in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey and arrowroot mixture and stir until well-combined. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until it has thickened and has the same consistency as jam, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 
 
6. To make the minted yoghurt, place the yoghurt and mint in a small bowl and stir to combine. Cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

7. To serve, place the pear halves on two serving plates. Top with the orange marmalade and minted yoghurt. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired and enjoy!

Once you know how to make poached pears, putting this recipe together is so simple! You’ll definitely want to make it again and again.