Fresh pears
Amazing! These red wine poached pears exceeded my expectations in many ways. So if you are following my blog, if not I hope you will, you know that my brother and I are putting my dad’s abundant pear crop to good use making wine. Despite this, there are still so many pears that you can barely walk through the orchard.
I came across this recipe while scrolling through my various foodie feeds via my social media. This recipe is from Food 52. I hate seeing good crops go to waste. So since I had fresh pears and the picture of these pears was exquisite, I decided I would give it a try besides I always have red wine on hand…….. if I just came from the store. In addition, I am not big on sweets so I enjoy a dessert with fruit.
This dessert was perfect for me and delicious to boot. The pears had the right amount of sweet and the right amount of tangy. I love to just eat fresh pears from the orchard, and this was a nice change of pace. Also, this is a perfect holiday dish! Serve the pears warm. They have a very high end, gourmet feel that will impress everyone at your holiday party without having to slave away in the kitchen. I would say the hardest part of the whole recipe is just the waiting, for the sugar to dissolve, the pears to simmer, and the liquid to reduce. But it is actually my second favorite part, the aroma that feels the house while poaching the pears. The liquid consists of red wine, cinnamon, orange peel, and thyme. The aroma was warm and inviting like mulled cider at Christmas.
Definitely look for firm but ripe pears, I can see how if my pears had been soft it would have affected the outcome. Go all out for cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and fresh thyme, I wouldn’t substitute. I am not sure if you really need the entire 4 cups of wine (note 4 cups is an entire bottle of wine so if you do, make sure you have an unopened bottle). The reason is I am hesitant on the 4 cups is because I was not getting a good reduction in the end and it affected the outcome of my syrup. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Still amazing. Most definitely, try this at home!
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