Red Wine and Cranberry Poached Pears
These red wine poached pears are easy and delicious, with the addition of cranberries, vanilla, cinnamon, cherries, and honey.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle dry red wine about 3 ¼ cups such as Cotes du Rhone, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvingon
- 1 cup water
- Juice from 2 oranges about ¾ cup
- Zest from 2 oranges
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 cup organic frozen cranberries
- 1 cup organic frozen cherries
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise with centers scraped into the poaching liquid and beans tossed in as well
- 1 whole star anise
- 5 ripe but firm pears ideally Bosc
- ¼ cup cane sugar for thickening the poaching liquid
- Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
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Bring all the ingredients except the pears to a boil over medium high heat in a large pot. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cherries and cranberries have softened and started releasing their juices into the poaching liquid.
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Towards the end of the simmering, peel the pears, keeping the stems on (they look nice!) You might notice that in the photos some pears are cut in half, and some are whole. You can make them either way, honestly. If you want the interior halves to be red and to serve them laying down on their sides, you need to cut the pear in half before you poach it. But if you want to be fancy and serve the pears plated individually standing up vertically, you will need to poach them whole, but cut the very bottom 1/2-inch off the pear so that the pear can easily stand upright without falling over for when you plate it later on. It just depends on your serving preference.
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Add the pears to pot, cover, and simmer until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 to 30 minutes, gently flipping the pears every 5 minutes with a wooden spoon.
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Turn off heat and allow the pears and poaching liquid to cool to room temperature. If you’re serving the same day, proceed to the next step. If you’re serving the next day, cover with the lid and place in the refrigerator overnight.
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Heat up the pot until the liquid is simmering. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set them aside.
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Strain the solids out of the poaching liquid and boil the remaining liquid with ¼ cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan until it thickens into a syrup-like consistency. Remove from heat.
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Plate the poached pears with a ladle of poaching liquid and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy immediately.