Charred Spiced Pears with Smoky Vanilla-Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 vanilla bean
• 0.5 cups brandy
• 10 ounces tart red cherries
• 0.5 cups packed brown sugar
• 0.75 teaspoons ground ginger
• 0.25 teaspoons ground allspice
• 0.25 teaspoons black pepper
• 0.13 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 pears , halved lengthwise and cored

Instructions

1. 1

   Put vanilla bean on a foil-lined baking sheet set on a wire rack. Toast vanilla bean with a kitchen torch, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and starting to smoke, about 30 seconds. Let cool 5 minutes. Split vanilla bean lengthwise.

2. 2

   Combine split vanilla bean and brandy in a medium saucepan. Carefully bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until brandy is reduced to 2 tablespoons, 7 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, blend cherries in a blender or food processor until smooth.

3. 3

   Stir together brown sugar, ginger, allspice, and pepper in a shallow bowl. For sauce, add 3 tablespoons brown sugar mixture, the puréed cherries, and salt to brandy mixture in saucepan. Return to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.

4. 4

   Remove vanilla bean from sauce; scrape out seeds. Stir seeds into sauce, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Return sauce to saucepan.

5. 5

   Whisk together water and cornstarch. Add to sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. 6

   Dip cut sides of pears in remaining brown sugar mixture to coat evenly. Arrange pears, cut sides up, on prepared baking sheet. Brown sugared surface of pears with a kitchen torch, about 5 minutes for entire recipe. Serve pears with sauce. (Chill sauce in an airtight container up to 5 days.)