Recipes › Asian Pear › Poached Asian Pears in Spiced Wine
Poached Asian Pears in Spiced Wine
Whole Asian pears simmered in spiced red wine until ruby-red and fragrant, then served with the reduced syrup and a dollop of mascarpone. Asian pears poach beautifully — they hold their shape better than European pears and absorb the wine's deep color and spice.
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Ingredients
- 4 Asian pears, peeled, core removed from the bottom if desired
- 3¼ cups red wine
- 4¼ oz sugar
- 2 cinnamon stick
- 3 star anise
- 1 orange, zest stripped, juiced
- 1 vanilla bean, splitor 1 tsp extract
- 4¼ oz mascarpone, for serving
Contains: milk, sulphites.
Method
- Combine wine, sugar, orange zest and juice, cinnamon, star anise, and vanilla in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.About 5 min
- Add the peeled pears. They should be mostly submerged. Simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender when pierced.About 30 min
- Remove the pears. Simmer the wine syrup for 10 more minutes until thickened slightly.About 10 min
- Serve the pears warm or at room temperature with a pool of the syrup and a dollop of mascarpone.
Tips
- Asian pears hold their shape beautifully and don't turn to mush — they're ideal for poaching.
- The syrup keeps in the fridge for weeks and is wonderful with ice cream, pancakes, or yogurt.
Ring the changes
- Use white wine with ginger and honey for a lighter, more delicate poaching liquid.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of mascarpone.
Keeping it
Keeps in the poaching liquid in the fridge for up to 5 days. The pears deepen in color and flavor.
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30 min · easy · Asian Pear
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