Fall and winter weather calls for warm sweaters, fireplaces and easy comforting desserts. The smell of poaching pears on the stove is something that will fill the house with cozy winter flavors and will smell 100 times better than that candle you got from your secret Santa gift exchange. I don’t often have left over wine in my house, but I will save some to make this recipe. I love the combination of spices in this recipe and the addition of black tea takes it to another level. Serving these poached pears warm over cold vanilla ice cream (or rum raisin) is one of the easiest, and yummiest things you can do during the crazy holiday season.
Ingredients:
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon whole cloves
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 2 Tablespoons loose leaf black tea
• 1 whole orange sliced
• 4 ea Bartlett pears (peeled/halved/cored)
Method:
1. Bring sugar and water to a boil to dissolve the sugar
2. Add the remaining ingredients and place a piece of parchment paper on top of the liquid to keep the pears submerged
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until pears are tender
4. At this point you can serve the pears warm with vanilla ice cream and a few spoonfuls of the poaching liquid or cool the pears and the liquid separately (to stop the pears from cooking), then return the pears to the liquid and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
By Pastry Chef Alison Murphy
