What is December without poached pears? The juicy and plum fruits are just the perfect side dish with slow cooked meat, and even a better winter dessert. I like to combine them with vanilla, pecan or cinnamon ice cream, but they also pair well with chocolate cake or brownies, or with crepes. The possibilities are endless. This year I made ombre ones, poached in spiced white wine and coloured in red port. It looks very fancy but actually is quite easy to pull of. And the syrup you are left with afterwards is so good! Pour it over your pears but also on top of your ice-cream or meat to really appreciate it. (scroll down for the recipe)
What you’ll need
- 4 Gieser Wildeman pears
- 500 ml white wine (I used Lambrusco)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 anise stars
- 4 cloves
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- juice of 1 orange
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 bay leaves
Directions
- peel the pears
- add all ingredients in a pan and bring to boil
- then add the pears and lower heat to simmer with lid on
- let simmer until the pears are soft
- put the pears in a bowl and fill it up with red port until the pears are half in port
- put the pears in the fridge and let rest overnight
- save the leftover syrup in which they were poached
- before serving, glaze the pears with the syrup
- serve with a mint leave
