Red Wine Poached Pears
Degree of difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-25 minutes
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4 large beurre bosc or 8 small corella pears, firm
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2.5 cups red wine
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1 1/3 cup white sugar
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1 cinnamon stick
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2 inch piece of mandarin or orange peel or zest
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2 inch piece of lemon zest
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Thick cream or vanilla bean yogurt to serve
Tip: you can also add dried figs into the mix too-they taste fantastic with the cream.
Step 1 - Place the red wine, sugar, cinnamon stick and zests onto the heat to boil in a pot that fits all of the pears snugly upright. Meanwhile peel the pears well making sure that you get all of the skin off (the skin that remains won't colour). By the time you've finished peeling, your wine should be boiling. Add the pears and cook turning three or four times for 15 minutes if Corella pears and 25 minutes if Beurre Bosc pears (check as it also depends on how big your pears are). Remove the pears as soon as they are done to prevent further cooking (you don't want them to become too soft).
Step 2 - Taste the syrup and if you want it thicker, then put it back on the boil and reduce until syrupy-anywhere from 5-12 minutes. Serve the pears with some of the syrup and the cream or yogurt.