Wine poached pears

Wine poached pears

(A French Dessert)  

Poached pears in wine or Poire à la Beaujolais is a classic French dessert. 

A fancy, yummy & a very gorgeous dessert recipe which is so easy to  prepare. Of course without use of any refined sugar.  

The well-known proverb "Necessity is the mother of Invention"  perfectly fits here.  

The story goes: In Burgundy, a famous wine drinking region in France,  when the pears used to be harvested, the unripe ones used to be set  aside. And instead of throwing the fruit, this poaching technique was  used to create this lovely and fancy dessert. 

Isn't it a very humble and straightforward cooking method to save  harvested fruit instead of just throwing away? And so beautifully this  technique amps the flavours of the fruit from 0 to 100 instantly.

This is a warm dessert ideal to have on a cold winter night or when it’s  raining outside. 

The translucent, red-tinted pears are a sheer joy. Every bite is oozing  with all the flavours of the different spices, the reduced wine and the  vanilla. You can serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or whipped  cream on the side.

For this recipe you will need a good red wine (fruity flavoured), cloves,  cardamom, a piece of cinnamon stick, few drops of vanilla essence, maple  syrup and some orange zest.  

I have used the Fratelli Classic Shiraz Wine

WINE POACHED PEARS  

Ingredients :  

• 2 cups Red Wine (look for a fruity flavoured) 

• 2 ripe but firm pears 

• ¼ cup maple syrup  

• 2 sticks of cinnamon 

• 1 whole cardamom 

• 5 cloves 

• Vanilla essence a few drops 

• Orange zest or orange peel 

Method :  

• First keep the wine to heat in a deep vessel alongwith all the spices,  the maple syrup, orange zest and the vanilla. 

• Then peel the pears and dunk them in the wine. Continue to boil  for 20 to 30 minutes if the pears are smaller in size. It may take a bit  longer for bigger pears. 

• After 30 minutes insert a knife to check if pears are tender. If there  is no resistance it means the pears are ready.

• Keep them overnight in the same pan immersed in the wine to serve  next day. This way the flavours get bolder and seep into the fruit. 

• Next day remove the pears onto a serving plate and bring the wine  to boil and reduce it till it becomes thick but still a pouring consistency.  This should take 15 to 20 minutes. 

• Serve the poached pears with whipped cream or ice-cream (I have  served with whipped cream garnished with pomegranate seeds) 

• Make sure you drizzle the reduced wine onto the pears before  serving. 

Now please find your favourite people who deserve this fancy dessert  and share with them. It is fantastic way of impressing those beautiful  people in your lives.  

Go ahead make them feel special.  

Handy Tips: For this recipe you need to use pears which are firm and  not overripe. While cooking you need to rotate them in the pan for  the wine to coat it evenly. Hence, if the pears are too ripe the heat will  disintegrate the fruit while cooking. And yes, don't throw away the  reduced wine syrup from the pan, use it over icecreams / cakes /  puddings etc.  

Interesting fact: Back in those days the poached pears compote used to preserved  with a tin spoon inside the jar in order to give it a good red colour.  

Recipe by Mumbai-based certified nutritionist & food blogger Greta  Fernandes.  

Please visit: https://deliciouslyurs.com for more such healthy and  beautiful recipes.