Serves 6

It’s hard to go wrong with pears and fresh ginger. Here, the fruit is lightly sweetened with honey and baked under a buttery brown-sugar streusel. For even distribution of ginger and pears, grate the ginger finely, cut the pears into small chunks, and combine with a large spoon. Also, if the measuring spoon is buttered, the honey will slide right off.

CRUMBS

Butter (for the pan)

¾ cup flour

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

⅓ cup walnuts, chopped

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, granulated and brown sugars, salt, and nutmeg to blend them. Add the butter and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the walnuts and toss to combine.

FRUIT

6 pears (5 cups; Bartlett work well), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into ½-inch chunks

¼ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Ice cream (for serving)

1. In a bowl, combine the pears, orange and lemon juices, honey, and ginger. Spoon the mixture into the pan. Sprinkle with the crumbs.

2. Bake for 50 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown and the pears are tender. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with ice cream. Jean Kressy

Jean Kressy can be reached at jeankressy@comcast.net