Archive for the ‘Pear’ Category

Pear: Lamb & Pear Tagine

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Tagine Lamb Pears_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

Golden, sautéed pears served with slow-cooked, tender lamb spiced with cinnamon, ginger and pepper. Sounds delicious right? It is, as eaten and attested by several friends who gobbled up this tagine.

Moroccan food is one of my favorites because I enjoy the array of spices and ingredients used throughout the cuisine:  cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, coriander, paprika, saffron, mint, lemon and more. Also emblematic of Moroccan cooking is the tagine (tajine), a stew that takes its name from the cooking vessel stews were traditionally cooked in – a shallow, round earthenware base with a cone shaped lid. It is standard in North African homes, and probably most well-known in Morocco cooking. Today, the name “tagine” is also commonly used to refer to stew, as many modern Moroccan cooks now use pressure cookers.

Characteristic of savory Moroccan meat tagines is the inclusion of fruit – raisins, quinces, prunes, dates, apples and, yes, pears – this week’s featured ingredient. However, in my exploration to bring you a new use for pears, I overlooked one thing – I’m not a fan of lamb. But, my labor and intuition in the kitchen was not for naught. The stew got the thumbs up among several lamb aficionados, with particular accolades for the pears.

The recipe here is adapted from several cookbooks including Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon by Claudia Roden; Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco by Paula Wolfert; and Casablanca Cuisine: French North African Cooking by Aline Benayoun.

This tagine makes for a comforting meal with complex flavor and texture – tender lamb with a warmly-spiced, glossy sauce, and soft, sweet pears.

Tidbits on Pears:

  1. Pears’genus Pyrus, native to the Northern Hemisphere of the Old World, includes about 20 species, of which half are found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia minor; and the remaining half in Asia.
  2. In some Asian cultures, pears and pear trees were believed to ward off evil. In Egyptian antiquity, the fruit was sacred to Isis, and to Koreans, the pear symbolized grace, nobility and purity, according toThe Pear in History, Literature, Popular Culture, and Art by Jules Janick.

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Pears: Sweet & Peppery Pear Salad

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Sweet Peppery Pear Salad

Sometimes cooking and eating should be simple – allowing fresh, seasonal ingredients to stand on their own without a belabored process. That’s what this recipe is about. And, also that I’m craving lighter, raw food the past few days.

It’s pear season and, like most of you, I enjoy eating pears as a healthy snack – whole. However, pears are also a tasty addition to a mixed green salad during the fall and winter months.

This time of year there is a good selection of pears at the market, most common varieties in the United States are Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, Comice and Asian/Nashi. For this salad, I opted for Comice because they are creamy, juicy and sweet when eaten raw, a nice contrast to the other ingredients that make up this salad:  peppery arugula and mixed greens, creamy shaved manchego cheese, walnuts and balsamic dressing.

This is a satisfying salad either as a full meal or as a side paired with a warm bowl of soup. Last year, this salad was a hit at Thanksgiving.

Tidbits on Pears:

  1. Pears were cultivated over 4,000 years ago and are believed to have originated in the Caucasus region from where they spread west to Europe and east to Asia.
  2. The fruit can be generally categorized as European pears and Asian pears – European are eaten ripe and soft after harvest, while Asian pears are eaten more crisp like an apple.
  3. Pears are picked and shipped unripe because of their fragile nature. Buy them a few days before you want to eat them, selecting ones without blemishes or bruises. Allowing them time to ripen at room temperature improves their texture and flavor. If you are not ready to eat or use soon, store in the refrigerator.

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