Pears Poached in Red Wine

I’ve eaten a few poached pears in my life, but none like the one I ate in Napa Valley while on vacation with my husband.

The hotel we stayed in offered brunch every morning, and it was there where I discovered the beauty of fruit mixed in wine.

This is a simple recipe.   Play with it.

Next time, I will experiment with cloves.

I used a Merlot for the red wine.

Pears Poached in Red Wine

Adapted from “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman

Time: Overnight , largely unattended.

A light simple and classic dessert.  Use not-quite-fully-ripe Bosc Pears if at all possible.

4 Bosc pears, ripe but not mushy

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups red wine (I used Merlot)

3/4 cup sugar

1 lemon, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1-  Peel pears;  use a melon baller to remove the core from the blossom end, leave the stem on.  (I did not, I halved the pears and removed the cores.  I preferred halves to wholes.)

2-  In a medium saucepan. Bring water, wine, and sugar to a boil.  Turn heat to med-low and add the lemon slices, cinnamon stick, and pears.  Cover pan, simmer until pears are very tender, at least 20 minutes.

3- Remove pears to a bowl and continue to cook the sauce, over med-high heat until it reduces by half and becomes syrupy.  Strain syrup over pears and refrigerate overnight.

4- Serve chilled pears whole, with little of the syrup poured over them.

These would be excellent for the holiday table.