I highly recommend grilling the pears and serving this crisp in style in FINEX Cast Iron Cookware’s 12″ Grill Pan. I’m a super fan! But it’ll still be great if you simply toss the raw pears with the olive oil, ginger, and salt and put them straight into a regular baking dish. Not pear season? This recipe can be used with any sort of seasonal fruit – apples in the fall or winter, strawberry rhubarb in late spring, or berries in the summer. It can be also be made using non-dairy butter, gluten-free flour, and coconut or date sugar.

Grilled Asian Pear Crisp

Serves 8-10

For the Asian Pears:

8 medium Asian pears, sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the grill pan
2 Tablespoons finely minced or grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Crisp Topping:

1/2 cup flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups chopped pecans and/or walnuts
1 cup rolled oats
Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a paper towel to oil the grill pan and place the pan in the oven.
While the oven and the grill pan are preheating, in a large bowl toss together the Asian pears, olive oil, ginger, and salt until well mixed.
Carefully remove the grill pan from the oven and place it on the stove over medium heat. Cook the fruit on both sides until you see grill marks. You will need to do this in batches so keep the bowl next to the stove to transfer the fruit to once cooked. Re-oil the grill in between batches. Once all of the fruit is grilled, turn off the stove and transfer the fruit back to the grill pan in an even layer.
In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugars, and salt and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl then stir in the nuts and oats.
Spread the mixture evenly over the fruit and bake until the topping is lightly browned and crisp, around 40 minutes. If you like a darker crisp topping, broil on the top rack for 3-4 minutes.
Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream. Store cool leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The topping can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container frozen for up to 2 months or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

This cake gets more moist after a day or two so it’s worth making it ahead of serving time if you can. Feel free to swap the hazelnut meal, hazelnut oil, and hazelnuts with their almond counterparts. Both compotes complement the cake so try either or both. If there’s leftover compote, enjoy it for breakfast with oatmeal, yogurt or pancakes.

Hazelnut Polenta Cake
Makes one 9-inch round cake or six muffins

1 cup hazelnut meal
3/4 cup polenta
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1/3 c roasted hazelnut oil (or olive oil)
½ cup honey (or pure dark maple syrup)
1/3 c dairy or non-dairy full fat yogurt
2 large eggs or 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds whisked together with 6 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper and coat the sides and parchment paper with oil. You may also oil a cast iron skillet or place paper liners in a muffin pan and coat the liners with oil.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the hazelnut meal, polenta, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, flax mixture or eggs and yogurt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to combine.
Transfer the batter to the pan, top with hazelnuts, and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Alternatively, fill each muffin liner 2/3 to ¾ full with batter, top with hazelnuts, and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack before running a knife around the perimeter and serving.

Citrus Compote
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 pink grapefruit
2 naval or blood oranges
4 kumquats, (optional) sliced into thin rounds, seeded
5 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup pomegranate
A couple sprigs fresh mint OR a large pinch ground cardamom
Pinch sea salt

Peel all of the citrus (except for the kumquats). Supreme into segments over a medium bowl to catch the juice. Transfer the juice into a measuring glass and squeeze what's left from the citrus to collect juice. It should measure 1/2 cup - if it doesn't, add water. If you are using them, add the kumquat slices to the bowl.

2. In a small pot bring the citrus juice (and water if using), dates, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid is almost gone. Mash the dates to combine with the remaining liquid, then mix into the citrus along with the pomegranate and the cardamom if you are using. If you are using mint, mix in the mint once the mixture is cool.

3. Serve cold or room temperature with cake, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, french toast, granola, or oatmeal. Keeps well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Winter Compote
Makes around 1 cup

Other dried fruit like golden raisins, dried mulberries, and dried figs are lovely in this too. As is a splash of bourbon.

1/3 cup prunes/dried plums
1/3 cup dried unsulfured apricots
1/3 cup dried cherries
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
1 two-inch strip of orange peel
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup pomegranate

1. Place all of the ingredients in a small pot with one cup of water. Bring to a full boil then lower the heat and cook at a gentle boil for 10 minutes. Lower the heat again and simmer for 5 minutes, until the fruit is very soft (some pieces should be starting to fall apart) and the liquid has reduced almost all the way.

2. Use a wooden spoon to smash the fruit a bit and combine it with the liquid, so the liquid is more like a syrup. Remove the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and orange peel and stir in the pomegranate before serving.

3. Serve warm or room temperature with cake, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, french toast, granola, or oatmeal. Keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.