Roasted Pears with Miso Caramel and Sesame

Sweet Fruit, Salty Depth

This dessert is all about the contrast between ripe fruit and a sauce with more depth than regular caramel sauce. The pears soften and turn juicy in the oven, while their cut sides develop browned edges from contact with the hot baking dish. Choose pears that are fragrant but still firm enough to halve neatly, such as Conference or Doyenné du Comice. Very soft pears are more likely to fall apart as they roast; hard ones need longer and have a less full flavor.

The oven does more than simply heat the fruit here. Roasting the pears cut-side down gives that side direct contact with the greased dish, allowing it to brown. Leave some space between them so they roast rather than steam. The exact timing depends on their size and ripeness: after about 25 minutes, poke the thickest part with the tip of a knife. It should slide in easily, while the pear half still holds its shape.

For the caramel sauce, melt the sugar until it turns amber. Warm the cream beforehand and add it carefully: cold cream can make the sugar seize into hard lumps and cause the mixture to bubble vigorously. Any lumps will dissolve if you keep stirring gently over low heat. Stir in the white miso at the end. It adds salt and umami without making the sauce taste savory. Miso varies in saltiness from brand to brand, so start with the small amount specified and taste before adding more.

Toasted sesame seeds add a dry, nutty crunch against the soft fruit and smooth sauce. Toast them briefly in a dry frying pan and keep an eye on them; once fragrant, they brown quickly. Black sesame seeds work too, although their flavor is usually more pronounced. If you don't have white miso, you can leave it out and stir a small pinch of salt into the caramel sauce instead, but it won't have as much umami depth.

Serve the pears warm or lukewarm and pour the sauce over just before eating, so the browned edges remain visible. A spoonful of unsweetened Greek yogurt or crème fraîche goes well if you'd like something cool and creamy; serve it separately from the sauce. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Warm the pears gently in a low-temperature oven and heat the sauce separately over low heat; stir in a splash of cream if it has become firm.