We're calling this a “butter,” but it's really more of a cross between butter and sauce—a thin butter or a thick sauce, if you will. It's inspired by an abundance of gorgeous pears in a holiday gift box and adapted from a recipe of Farmgirl Fare, a delightful blog that chronicles life on a 240-acre farm in rural Missouri. Most of the sweetness comes from the ripe pears themselves (any variety will do here), but a touch of brown sugar adds a caramel-y touch, while the whole star anise brightens the overall flavor. It's dandy spread on toast or dolloped on waffles or pancakes, and it would be a delicious condiment with our Spiced Pork Roast.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ripe pears (any variety), cored and cut into chunks
- 1/2 packed cup brown sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3 whole star anise pods
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Place pears in a food processor, and pulse until pureed (depending on the capacity of your processor, you may need to do this in batches). Add sugar, juice and salt. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13-inch (4-quart) baking dish. Add star anise. Bake for 3 hours or until thick, stirring every 30 minutes. Cool completely. (Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.) Refrigerate up to 1 week.
Makes about 4 cups.
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