Ingredients:

• 4 Bosc pears - peeled
• 5 cups water
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup whole salted almonds with skin, toasted and cooled
• 2/3 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
• 2/3 cup Sunsweet pitted dried dates, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoon orange zest, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of orange juice
• 5 oz goat cheese

Directions:

• Peel the pears.
• Combine water, star anise, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, sugar, and lemon in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Add pears, reduce to simmer, and cover. Poach about 15 minutes or until pears are fork tender.
• Remove pears from pot and place in the freezer to chill.
• Roughly chop the dates.
• Combine almonds, pistachios, dates, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne, lemon juice, orange juice, and orange zest in a food processor. Pulse until you have a chunky paste.
• Transfer to a bowl and fold in the goat cheese.
• Once pears have cooled, slice them in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds.
• Place the halved pears on a baking sheet and top each one with a spoon full of the date mixture.
• Bake pears for 10 minutes on 400.
• Serve warm with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!

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