Roasted Comice Pear Stuffed with Granola and Dates
Yield: 1 pear per serving; the recipe may be scaled up according to your desired yield
Here’s the idea:
Peel and core the fruit. Mix up a filling of granola (homemade or storebought) with some pitted dates, allowing about a tablespoon of each per pear. Place the stuffed fruits in a shallow baking pan. Generously coat the fruit with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Insert two whole cinnamon sticks into each pear. Top each fruit with a knob of unsalted butter. Pour enough white wine into the baking pan to reach one third of the way up the pears and bake covered with foil in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for about 40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting the point of a small sharp knife into the fruit. If done, the knife should easily penetrate the fruit. Spoon the pan juices over the fruit and serve warm, cooled to room temperature or chilled with a scoop of vanilla or ginger ice cream. (A custard sauce or a dollop of softly whipped cream would be a nice enhancement instead). A pleasantly sandy wedge of shortbread would round out the plate perfectly.
