Don’t you just love a good classic like this delicious Spiced Poached Pears In Red Wine? It’s simple but yet brilliantly sophisticated
An underrated dessert
‘Yawn fest’ right? I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen Poached Pears on dessert menus and skipped it for luscious desserts like cheesecake or tiramisu.
Lucky for me I’m a constant ‘Yo-Yo’ dieter. When I was trying to eat better and healthier, I discovered how brilliant Poached Pears were. Yes, I will try anything when my sugar cravings hit the ceiling! Poached pears are relatively low in calories and nutritious but best of all it doesn’t leave me feeling guilty after!
I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed eating Poached Pears! I’ve should’ve known better. What is there not to love? I love red wine and spices but sadly I don’t love pears, this was probably what put me off from making this for so long.
If you’re not a pear lover like I am, don’t despair because Poaching pears in red wine gives this modest fruit a fancy and tasty makeover. The spiced wine poaching liquid absorbs into the pears giving it a lovely fragrance with sweet and slightly tart flavours. The poaching liquid turns into a beautiful syrup once the pears have finished cooking.
Serve these delicious pears at warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.
Poached Pears in red wine can be prepared in advance so it’s perfect to serve at dinner parties. The pears also look very impressive sitting on the plate, just like precious dark red rubies.
Below, I served the Poached Pears with my HOMEMADE MACADAMIA BRITTLE, whipped cream infused with the poaching syrup and drizzled it with more of its syrup.
The long weekend + 10
We just had a long weekend, thanks kindly to the Queen.
Tomasi’s brother and his family came to town for the weekend to visit their family and friends as they live up the coast. So that everyone could meet on such short notice we arranged a family get together at Vina’s house on Sunday.
Vina is Tomasi’s cousin, and SHE HAS 10 CHILDREN!
I first met Vina back in 2012 when Tomasi invited me to his family’s Christmas party when we just started dating. Vina’s husband drove a minibus to the party and when he parked the bus, I watched in disbelief when twelve of them stepped out. There they were all 10 children between the ages of 1 to 17 years old.
Vina and her husband maintain a minimalist lifestyle. They don’t allow their children to watch TV, have gadgets or eat junk food. This may be the secret to why all 10 of them were so well behaved!
When we visited on Sunday, only 4 of her boys were home. They were still lovely and polite as ever. They played with my toddler Kai and took great care of him. The youngest child that was 1 is now 9 years old. Oh, how time flies, I feel like I’m getting older every single second!
I always thought Vina was a good mum but when I became a mum myself, it made me realise how truly remarkable she is. It’s like Vina has secret superpowers.
I’ve never seen Vina raise her voice at any of her children and yet they listen and have the utmost respect for her. Vina’s always relaxed and positive. I’ve never seen her stressed or look dishevelled. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same to myself!
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My pears are still pale!
I’ve frequently made these Poached pears and every time I panic a little as my pears look pale! This could be because I’m impatient or unrealistic, but I expect it to change colour as soon as it hits the poaching liquid.
Don’t stress as I did, because they will turn into a stunning shade of deep crimson. The magic happens near the end of the poaching time.
The texture of the pears is very important. Pears that are too ripe may end up not holding their shape during the poaching time and end up being mushy. In saying this guess what I did? I bought gorgeous Corella pears to use in this recipe, but I didn’t have time to poach them until a few days later and they got overripe. Luckily, it still worked out okay, my pears were are little soft after poaching but it was still delicious.
Pears that are too firm or ‘underripe’ may not poach well so it’s best to select pears that are just ripe. Some varieties of pears work better than others, avoid juicy or soft flesh pears as they will not hold their shape during the poaching time.
Ingredients for Poached Pears In Red Wine
Pears – There are a few varieties of pears that are great for poaching. Beurre Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou, Josephine or Corella are great choices. The pears should be perfectly ripe as overripe pears will most likely get mushy during poaching and ‘underripe’ pears may not absorb the poaching liquid.
Red wine – You can use your favourite bottle of red but it doesn’t have to be an expensive bottle. I like using dry red wine in cooking as it’s not as sweet, this allows me to have more control over the level of sweetness in my dish. Dry red wine includes Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Shiraz.
Orange peel (or mandarin peel) – I had an orange for this recipe but my husband ate it! I swapped the orange peel for two large strips of mandarin peels. This worked out brilliantly.
How to make Poached Pears In Red Wine
Step by step guide with photos
Take your time to peel the pears as you want to make them look as pretty as possible. Use a vegetable peeler to peel as much skin as you can from the pears, you may need to remove any remaining skin near the stem with a small knife. Leave the stems on and cut off a thin layer at the bottom of the pears so they can sit upright.
Place all the ingredients except for the pears in a medium-sized saucepan, place it over medium heat and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and carefully add in the pears.
Let the pears simmer in red wine poaching liquid
Simmer the pears gently in the poaching liquid for 50 to 60 minutes. Turn the pears occasionally so they will colour evenly. Use a knife or skewer to test if the pears are ready, if the skewer slides in effortlessly into the pears, they’re done. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid.
The poaching liquid will reduce significantly and become syrup-like, spoon this on the pears when serving. Serve the pears warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.
Leftovers – Allow the pears and syrup to cool at room temperature, then place them in an airtight container and store in the fridge. They will keep for up to 3 days.
If you love hosting dinner parties and looking for easy desserts, you can make in advance try COFFEE AND CREAM AGAR JELLY. What about a winter dessert that will impress your guests? Try this scrumptious STICKY DATE PUDDING WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Poached Pears In Red Wine
Ingredients
- 5 small pears (peeled approx 120gm/4oz each) (NOTE 1)
- 750 ml dry red wine (NOTE 2)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 large strip of orange peel (NOTE 3)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 stick cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)
- large pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Take your time to peel the pears as you want to make them look as pretty as possible. Use a vegetable peeler to peel as much skin as you can from the pears, you may need to remove any remaining skin near the stem with a small knife. Leave the stems on and cut off a thin layer at the bottom of the pears so they can sit upright.
- Place all the ingredients except for the pears in a medium-sized saucepan, place it over medium heat and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and carefully add in the pears.
- Simmer the pears gently in the poaching liquid for 50 to 60 minutes. Turn the pears occasionally so they will colour evenly. Use a knife or skewer to test if the pears are ready, if the skewer slides in effortlessly into the pears, they're done. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid.The poaching liquid will reduce significantly and become syrup-like, spoon this on the pears when serving. Serve the pears warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream.
