Poached ginger pears

Peel the pears and cut them in quarters. Remove the core and seeds.

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice on the pears and mix well.

Combine the water, sugar, vanilla bean and fresh ginger together in a non-stickwok and boil the mixture together until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Add the pears, cover and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes or until theyare tender. The cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the pears.

When the pears are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon or skimmer together with the vanilla bean and ginger slices. Over high heat, reduce the liquid to a syrup by boiling it fast. Discard the ginger slices, keep the vanillabean and when it dries, put it in sugar to keep for future use.

Once reduced, pour the syrup over the pears and serve at once. Alternatively you can let the mixture cool, cover it with cling film and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.