Oven Roasted Pear, Rosemary and Walnut Jam
If I could perfect any magic trick, I’d like to blink and have a perfectly ripe and juicy pear appear - my personal “I Dream of Jeannie” moment! Perfect pears can be a trick in themselves to find, but nothing quite matches their deliciousness. This week, I come to you with an unintimidating jam-of-all-jams, with pear-ly any sugar compared to most sugarful jams and little need to fret over sterilization.
This recipe is also a small batch, meaning you are not nearly as committed to indulging in your jam as you would with most other large-batch recipes. Making a small batch of oven-roasted jam simplifies things, and we like that! You are free to experiment without worries and try different flavor combinations with the freshest fruit of the season. Your finished jam keeps nicely in the refrigerator and will last about a month, although it will probably disappear in the blink of an eye!
Preheat the oven to 350˚
Line a 12″ oven proof skillet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, toss the pears, lemon juice, organic cane sugar and salt together. Using a spatula, scrape the pears into the skillet.
Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 1 to 2 hours, stirring the fruit and spooning the juices over the pears every 30 minutes until the pears are very tender. Note – The cooking time will depend on the type of pears and ripeness. My pears took 1½ hours to cook. Test for doneness, then add the chopped rosemary and walnuts. Bake for 10-12 more minutes until the walnuts are toasted. Remove from the oven. Let cool for 10 minutes. Add the Poire William, if using, and scrape into a food processor. Pulse a few times until the pears are a chunky jam consistency. Transfer to a lidded glass jar and store in the refrigerator. The jam will thicken as it cools. Enjoy with some cream cheese and crackers and a nice glass of rosé.
makes one generous cup
JAM
- 3 large Bosc, Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- the juice from 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup organic cane sugar
- a pinch of salt
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 2 tsp Poire William, optional
- 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped