I've been on a bit of a poached fruit kick lately. First there were the quince poached in vanilla syrup. Then I was able to doctor the leftover syrup from that to make the poached quince with mascarpone, caramel, and gingersnaps. And, for this recipe, I was able to tinker with the syrup yet again to make these fabulous poached pears.

This does, of course, leave me with the same problem of how to write up the recipe. Since I don't necessarily want to have to make the previous two every time I make these pears. So, as before, I'm going to make a note of what I actually did here, but then write up the recipe (more-or-less) as given in the book.
For this rendition, I simply took the leftover syrup from the second batch of quince (which contained the leftover syrup from the first batch of quince, 1 1/2 c. of white wine, a vanilla bean, grated lemon zest, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, and 1 star anise) and added an extra 1/2 c. of wine and a few slices of fresh ginger.

The original recipe called for 2 c. of Riesling, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 strips of lemon rind, and 3 slices of fresh ginger. So, my version definitely had a few more spices in the mix, but I quited liked it. Especially the vanilla. Given that, I've included the extra spices in the recipe, but listed them as optional. Adjust as you see fit.

Pears Poached in White Wine

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 2 c. Riesling
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1-2 (7cm) cinnamon stick(s)
• 3 slices fresh ginger
• 2-3 strips lemon zest
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
• 1 star anise (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns (optional)
• 4 pears¹
• 1/4 c. chopped toasted or candied walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the Riesling, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest, and whatever other seasonings you've chosen and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, peel and halve the pears. Use a spoon to scoop out the cores and remove the stems.
3. Add the pear halves to the poaching liquid, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until tender (10-15 minutes).
4. Serve as-is or topped with lightly sweetened mascarpone. (See quince recipe.)
5. Optionally sprinkle a few toasted or candied walnuts over the pears before serving.

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¹ The recipe didn't specify what type of pears to use. I thought anjou would be good here, but I couldn't find any at the grocery store. The bartletts looked quite nice though, so I went for those. ^Back