Slow-Roasted Spiced Pineapple – No Sugar Added

I had this slow-roasted spiced pineapple with yogurt for breakfast. The fork-tender juicy pineapple and the spicy syrup over Greek yogurt is very satisfying. I like the idea of having dessert for breakfast or breakfast for dessert. Whichever way, I have my sugar fix early in the day.

There is no sugar added in the recipe. Really? There are a bunch of warm spices, a half-cup of orange juice, one jar of jam and, of course, a half-cup of booze (I used rum) mixed together in a dish to roast one ripe pineapple in a 300°F oven. Two hours later, the pineapple was transformed into this candied wonder that I forget no sugar was used in the making.

What tastes so sweet is the natural sweetness concentrated in the pineapple after a long slow roast in the oven. You must try this!

The best part of the recipe is what Dorie Greenspan advises:

“Let inspiration and whatever you’ve got in the cupboard guide you. Having made this so many times with so many combinations, I can now say with confidence what Laurent told me when he first described the dish, “You’ll love it.””

So the secret sauce, if there is one, in the pineapple roast consists of: juice from two cara cara oranges, rum, a combination of apricot jam and homemade blood orange marmalade, lightly bruised star anise, cardamom, coriander, allspice, cloves, cinnamon stick, black and red peppercorns, pieces of fresh ginger and a small hot pepper. I did not put in the optional vanilla bean, which I would surely try next time. To serve, I left the spices in the syrup. Not straining is not an option in any French restaurant. As a cook and someone who loves to eat, tasting the tantalizing spices comes with the territory.