To me, this tastes (and smells) like the Holidays. Poaching pears in spiced red wine turns the Holiday tradition of hot mulled wine into a light and flavorful dessert. They’re delicious just on their own, or you can add whipped cream, ice cream, shortbread or a slice of pound cake for a more substantial treat.
This dish is also friendly to the busy Holiday host since it involves very little active cooking time and can be prepared up to four days ahead of use. Best of all, though, it fills the house with an undeniably festive aroma as it’s cooking.
It’s important that you use ripe pears, though. Since Bosc pears are very firm when ripe, it can be a little tricky to determine whether they’re ready to eat. If the pear’s brown skin has even the slightest greenish cast, move on. You can also tell an under ripe pear when you peel it. The skin of a ripe pear will slip off easily with the use of a vegetable peeler, revealing juicy glossy flesh beneath. If you have to scrape the skin off and the flesh has a matte texture, the pear’s not ready to eat.
Recipe
Ingredients
4 ripe Bosc pears
1 bottle robust red wine
1 cup (235 ml) sugar
peel of one lemon
peel of one orange
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
a few black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 star anise (optional)
Instructions
1. Peel and halve the pears. Using a mellon baller or a small spoon, scoop out the seeds.
2. Put all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil, then simmer until a paring knife slides easily into the pears. The pears should be tender, but not soft. (This will take 20-30 minutes.)
3. Let the pears cool completely in the liquid. (Their color will darken to the rich burgundy color you see above as they soak up the poaching liquid.)
4. Remove the pears from the liquid, strain it and pour it back into the saucepan. Add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil and reduce by about 1/2 to a light syrup.
5. Pour the sauce over the pears and allow to cool again.
Serve alone, or with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or on pound cake.
