After the holidays I half a bottle of red wine in the fridge. Although the bottle has been vacuum sealed to preserve the taste, I didn't want to drink it. Fortunately I was getting groceries and there were lots of bosc pears. Aha! I can try to make some poached pears!
I have searched a few recipes online and found out that I don't have a lot of spices in my pantry. Thus I have created the following recipe to match the taste of the wine I have. Make sure you taste test and adjust to your taste.
Red Wine Poached Pears
4 Bosc Pears, peeled
500ml red wine (this time I used Yellow Tail Merlot)
1/2 a vanilla bean
50g honey
20 black peppercorns
Instructions:
1) Depending on your presentation, remove the core of the pears with a small spoon by either from the bottom or cutting the pear in half.
2) In a large enough pot that you can fit he pears in one layer, put the red wine, honey and black peppercorns and set it on medium heat. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape off the seeds and add to the pot of red wine. Along with the vanilla pod, heat the wine until it just simmers and all honey has been melted. Add the pears.
3) Cut a round piece of parchment paper the size of the pot and cut a thumb-size hole in the center. Lay on top of the pears to keep the pears submerged in the wine.
4) Depending on the ripeness of the pears, simmer the pears. For pears in halves, simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. For whole pear, simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes. Check consistency. The pears should have a little bit of resistance to touch.
5) Transfer the pears and the wine to a (preferably glass) container and let cool. Refrigerate overnight.
6) When ready to serve, take out some liquid and reduce to half. Slightly warm up the pears. Serve as is, or even better, with vanilla ice cream.
That sounds like an excellent idea. Salvaging holiday leftovers has never looked so classy!
ReplyDeleteIt looks pretty simple to prepare for something that looks tasty and presentable. Thanks for the recipe!
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