Sure, pears are sweet, but they get savory in this recipe

Like many consumers during the pandemic, I have been shopping for groceries online in order to avoid crowds at my supermarket

. I recently ordered three pears, but much to my surprise I received three bags of pears instead, totaling 30.

My first thought was to give them to neighbors; but then I began eating them out-of-hand and adding them to salads. I poached some in wine, turned a few into a tart, and made a pear-ginger cake. Sorry neighbors, but before I knew it, they were gone.

With pears at their peak now it’s time to treat yourself to this juicy, sweet, healthful fruit. Unlike most fruits, pears are best if picked mature but not fully ripe. When allowed to ripen on the tree, the grittiness in the texture becomes pronounced.

If the pears at the market are not ripe, they will ripen well after they’re picked. Choose firm pears that are without bruises and with their stems attached. You can speed the ripening process by placing them in a brown paper bag with an apple or a banana.

If you plan on cooking pears, make sure they are a bit under-ripe so they will hold their shape.

Native to Asia, pears come in more than 5,000 varieties. Pears were strictly seasonal years ago, but thanks to controlled-atmosphere storage, at least one variety of pears is available fresh throughout the year.

The most popular pear is the greenish-yellow-skinned Bartlett, but we’re seeing a wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes to choose from, including brilliant red Bartletts, brownish-gold Boscs, large Anjous and tiny Seckels.

With so many types of pears at the market this time of the year that it’s sometimes hard to come up with enough recipes to make use of them. Although we usually think of pears in dessert recipes, roasted or sautéed pears go beautifully with savory roasted or grilled meats like pork or duck, or in a salad of bitter greens, nuts and a tart cheese, or pureed in a soup along with butternut squash.

Roasted Pork Chops with Caramelized Pears and Thyme

This recipe is adapted from Anyone Can Cook, by Kitchen Stories, will be published by Prestel on March 16th ($30.00).

Pork is one of the most versatile foods when it comes to wine pairing. It’s rich but can be very light, and is generally not as fatty as steak. The best wine for pork will be something medium-bodied with ripe tannins and earthiness like Couvent des Thorins, Moulin-à-Vent 2017 ($25), a Gamay wine from Beaujolais, France. This wine is now available at Whole Foods.

2 pears

3 shallots

2 pork chops, thick-cut and bone-in

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

8 sprigs thyme

¼ cup (50 ml) orange liqueur

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil for frying

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Quarter and core pears lengthwise, then slice the quarters in half again. Peel and halve shallots. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and add some oil. Season both sides of pork chops with salt and grill in the hot pan on each side until brown grill marks appear or there is a nice sear, approx. 10 min. in total. Remove and set aside.

Heat butter and olive oil in the same pan and add sliced pears, shallots, and thyme sprigs. Sauté for approx. 5 min. and season with salt and pepper. Add orange liqueur and let simmer for approx. 30 sec. more.

Transfer pear mixture to a baking dish and place pork chops on top. Bake for approx. 20 minutes Let pork chops rest for approx. 5 minutes before serving.

Extra Tip: If you don’t have or don’t want to use orange liqueur, replace it with a 1:1 mixture of orange juice and water.

Yield: Serves 2