French · Snack · Dinner
Poached Pears in Spiced Red Wine
Poires pochées au vin rouge
Whole pears gently simmered in red wine with cinnamon, star anise and orange until tender and ruby-red, then glazed with a lightly reduced spiced syrup. An elegant, naturally fat-free dessert that looks far fancier than it is.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 96% · Fat 2% · Protein 2%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 4 medium720 gFirm ripe pears (Bosc or Conference)
- 2 cups495 gDry red wine
- 1 cup240 gWater
- 1 1/2 tbsp19 gGranulated sugar
- 1 stickCinnamon stick
- 2 podsStar anise
- 4 clovesWhole cloves
- 3 wide strips (from 1 orange)6 gOrange zest strips
- 1 tspVanilla extract
Steps
- 1
Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler, leaving the stems attached.
- 2
Slice a thin piece off the base of each pear so it can stand upright.
- 3
Put the red wine, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and orange zest strips in a saucepan just large enough to hold the pears.
- 4
Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- 5
Lower the pears into the liquid on their sides.
- 6
Cover the surface with a circle of baking paper to keep the pears submerged.
- 7
Simmer gently for 20–25 minutes, turning the pears every 5–10 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the thickest part.
- 8
Lift the pears out with a slotted spoon and set them upright on a plate.
- 9
Turn up the heat and boil the poaching liquid for 12–15 minutes until reduced to about 3/4 cup and lightly syrupy.
- 10
Remove the syrup from the heat, discard the whole spices and zest, and stir in the vanilla extract.
- 11
Serve each pear warm or chilled with a spoonful of the syrup.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For an alcohol-free version, use unsweetened red grape juice with a squeeze of lemon and skip the added sugar.
- To keep it vegan, choose a red wine labelled vegan, since some wines are clarified with animal products.
- Swap the granulated sugar for the same amount of maple syrup, or honey if you don't need the dessert to be vegan.
- If Bosc or Conference pears are hard to find, use any firm, just-ripe pear such as Anjou, checking for tenderness a few minutes early.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover pears in their syrup in a covered container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, serving chilled or gently warmed until heated through. Freezing isn't recommended, as the pears turn soft and watery when thawed.
Make ahead
Poach the pears and reduce the syrup up to 2 days ahead, then store the pears in the syrup in the fridge, turning them occasionally so they take on an even deeper red colour. Serve chilled, or warm gently in the syrup before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Sulphites
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (372 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 233 kcal | 63 kcal |
| Protein | 0.8 g | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 36.6 g | 9.8 g |
| of which sugars | 23.2 g | 6.2 g |
| Fiber | 6.2 g | 1.7 g |
| Fat | 0.3 g | 0.1 g |
| of which saturated | 0 g | 0 g |
| Sodium | 10 mg | 3 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
