Roasted Pears with Dried Apricots and Pistachios

Welcome back! I'm so glad you stopped by to see this deliciously light and satisfying end to a beautiful meal as we make Roasted Pears with Dried Apricots and Pistachios. 

Even though I've been cooking since I was 6 years old, plant-based cooking was a daunting task! How do I incorporate well-balanced meals with complete nutrition? Learning a new style of eating was tricky, but not impossible. So many helpers along the way - Pinterest, blogs/vlogs, TikTok, cookbooks, websites, vegan meal subscriptions - acted as stepping stones towards my goal of eating a (mostly) plant-based diet. One cookbook became my absolute favorite for all of its easy, step-by-step instructions and technical tips. Plus, just about everything I've made from this cookbook is chalk full of mouth-watering flavors, like today's dessert. 

Oh! The cookbook...? The Complete Plant Based Cookbook, by America's Test Kitchen. If you're not familiar with their work, they have some of the best cookbooks on a wide variety of foods. Definitely worth checking out!

On to the recipe!

But, first...

Let's talk ingredients. 

Bosc Pears

Originally from France and/or Belgium (depends on who you ask), the Bosc pear came to the US in the early 1830s. After westward expansion, we found that these pears grow best in the rich soils of the Pacific Northwestern United States (Northern California, Oregon, and Washington). Originally named the Beurre Bosc (beurre meaning butter in French) for its smooth and juicy flesh, these pears are perfect for poaching, roasting or grilling, as well as eating right off the tree for a crisp and juicy treat.

With a growing season that stretches from September to April, Bosc pears give us a chance to enjoy fresh fruits through the months that typically lack in a variety of harvest items. 

While Bosc pears have a higher carbohydrate content, they are ranked a 38 on the glycemic index, which means that they are ok to consume if you have diabetes. Their complex carb content makes them a great a great pre-workout snack to boost your energy. Plus, their fiber content helps regulate blood sugar, provides a feeling of fullness, and promotes a healthy gut. One pear offers about 20% of our daily fiber needs.

Being available throughout the winter, pears offer a heaping dose of vitamin C to ward off diseases, like scurvy (a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency). While many of our boxed foods are fortified with vitamin C already, for those who avoid highly processed foods, Bosc pears are a great way to incorporate this essential vitamin into your diet.

Fun Fact: Bosc pears are named for the horticulturist who first propagated the rough, brown-skinned pear. 

Apricots

Apricots are one of my all-time favorite summer fruits! To me, apricots define summer. We can thank China and parts of Siberia for introducing the world to the apricot, via the Silk Road, around 3000 BCE. These "golden eggs of the sun" (as the Greeks called them), were introduced to North America by French explorers. While apricot trees were first planted in the eastern and central United States, California is now the largest grower of apricots, providing 75% of the nations supply. A road trip through the arid San Joaquin Valley (with the windows down, if you it's not oppressively hot!) during the late Spring to late summer months will surely offer wafts of the sweet fragrant fruit.

Apricots provide a great source of vitamins A, B and C, and are high in cancer-fighting antioxidants. Some studies suggest that apricots can be helpful to eye health, improve skin health, and promote gut health (probably because of how well they can keep things moving... if you catch my drift... so use with caution!) 

Pistachios

The history of the pistachio is as rich as the nut itself. Originating from the Middle East (primarily Persia), pistachios have been cultivated for thousands of years! There's even mention of the nut in the first book of the Bible. Through conquests and the expansion of Greek and Roman empires, the pistachio made its way into southern Europe; namely Greece, Italy, and Spain. When the pistachio finally found its way north of the Alps, the nut was an expensive commodity. Not until the post-World War II era did the pistachio become more affordable. When it did, the pistachio was a favorite snack of many throughout Europe.

In the 1880s, the pistachio was brought to the US where the nut found equal popularity as it did in Europe. However, cultivation of the pistachio on US soil started as a bit of an experiment. In 1930, 20 pounds of pistachios were planted in California's Central Valley. Since it takes almost 10 years for a pistachio tree to produce nuts, this "experiment" became a labor of love. Finally, in the 1960s, the pistachio growing "experiment" bore fruit with the pistachios that we see in our grocery stores today. 

It blows my mind to think that the first commercial crop of pistachios from the US was produced in 1976. I've been eating pistachios my whole life, so I don't remember a time when we didn't have pistachios on hand. Now, California, Arizona, and New Mexico grow 100% of the pistachio crops in the US, with California producing the majority at 99%. Not only do we produce pistachios for US consumption, our pistachios are exported around the world.

Nutritionally, the pistachio is a great source of vitamin B6 and potassium. Vitamin B6 is an important vitamin in the regulation of blood sugar and helps the body form the hemoglobin (the molecule that enables red blood cells to carry oxygen to the rest of the body). Along with these essential nutrients, the pistachio is a great source of protein, fiber and those cancer-fighting antioxidants. 

From ancient origins to its widespread reaches around the globe today, the pistachio holds a special place in our human history. With its crunchy texture and buttery flavor, it's easy to see why!

The Recipe

Resources:

https://blog.blueapron.com/types-of-pears/#:~:text=The%20Bosc%20pear%2C%20sometimes%20known,flesh%20is%20firm%20and%20juicy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosc_pear 

https://usapears.org/bosc/ 

https://usapears.org/blog/3-sweet-reasons-choose-pears-diabetes/#:~:text=Pears%20are%20a%20low%20glycemic,effect%20on%20blood%20sugar%20levels.

https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/pears-diabetes-benefits-risks-nutrition

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/school-nutrition/pdf/fact-sheet-apricot.pdf

https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/fruits/apricots#:~:text=Today%2C%20nearly%2075%20percent%20of,a%20value%20of%20%2434%20million.

https://ucanr.edu/sites/btfnp/fruitnutproduction/Apricot/#:~:text=Apricots%20are%20primarily%20grown%20in,(Norton%20and%20Coates%202012).

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/apricots-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6

https://americanpistachios.org/growing-and-harvesting/history#:~:text=History%20%2D%20Pistachio%20Origins,(Genesis%2043%3A11).

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-benefits-of-pistachios#1.-Loaded-with-nutrients