Have you ever made a red wine sangria or mulled wine? The poaching liquid for these wine poached pears is practically the same. Jump to the Easy Red Wine Poached Pears Recipe or read on to see our tips for making them.
You will need a bottle of red wine. It doesn’t have to be the best bottle, just make sure it is something you would be happy drinking. Choose a drier wine like Merlot or Cabernet.
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Poaching the pears takes about 30 minutes, but the best part? You can make the pears 2 days in advance, once the pears are tender, turn off the heat then cool the liquid & the pears. Transfer the pears to a container and cover with the cooled poaching liquid. Then reheat just before serving.
We made these for maché magazine and between the two of us, we finished all 6 servings. Half were finished for dessert and the other half went during breakfast the next morning!
Recipe updated, originally posted December 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Easy Red Wine Poached Pears Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
You can make the pears 2 days in advance, once the pears are tender, turn off the heat then cool the liquid and the pears. Transfer the pears to a container and cover with the cooled poaching liquid. Reheat the pears in the liquid just before serving and make the whipped cream. If you do not have a vanilla bean, substitute 2 to 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
You Will Need
1 lemon, sliced and added to a large bowl of water
3 firm pears such as Bosc or Bartlett, peeled, halved and cored
1 cup water
1 (750ml) bottle dry red wine like Merlot or Cabernet
1 orange, quartered
1/2 cup honey or more to taste
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 vanilla bean, halved with seeds scraped out
1 cup cold heavy cream
Directions
- Poach Pears
1Add pear halves to lemon water to prevent browning while you prepare the poaching liquid.
2Add bottle of wine and 1 cup of water to a 3 to 4-quart saucepan. Squeeze orange quarters over the wine, releasing their juice and drop in the quarters of orange along with the honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and the vanilla pod and seeds.
3Bring to a boil over high and reduce to a simmer. Remove pear halves from the lemon water then submerge into the poaching liquid, cook until tender throughout, about 20 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- If the pear halves float partially out of the liquid while they poach, cut a circle of parchment paper that fits inside the pan. Cut a 1-inch hole in the middle then lay on top of the poaching liquid.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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