← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 4 ripe but firm pears (Bosc or Conference)
• 750 ml fruity red wine (1 bottle)
• 150 g Sugar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 Star anise
• 3 strips of orange peel
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. Put the wine, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, orange peel and vanilla in a pan just big enough to hold the pears standing up. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. Peel the pears, leaving the stalks on, and slice a thin piece off the bottoms so they stand.
3. Lower the pears into the wine, cover with a circle of baking paper, and simmer gently for 25–30 min, turning them now and then, until a skewer slides in easily.
4. Lift the pears into a dish. Boil the wine over high heat for 10–15 min, until reduced to a syrup that lightly coats a spoon.
5. Pour the syrup over the pears and serve warm or chilled.

Tips

• They're even better made a day ahead: left overnight in the syrup, they turn deep ruby right through.
• Most, but not all, of the alcohol cooks off; use red grape juice and a little lemon for children.
• Some wines are fined with animal products; pick one labelled vegan to keep it vegan.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Inspired Taste Once Upon a Chef