Pears are my second favorite fruit, after dates. While there is little better than a ripe pear, an unripe pear can be poached and will taste great. I got hold of some Anjou pears from the store for this recipe, but you can use pretty much any kind, so long as they are not too soft.
Pears can be poached in a simple syrup (water and sugar) or in a wine or port syrup. Port is my favorite, but I didn't have any on hand, just 2 cups of red wine left over from making the beef stew. You could also use white wine if you like.
Start by boiling 2 cups red wine, 1 cup water and 10 oz sugar and some whole spices until the sugar dissolves. The spices are your choice. I like to use any or all of the following: clove, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom (remove from pods), black peppercorn. Once the 'mulled wine' is hot and the sugar dissolved, peel 3 pears. Cut in half and scoop or cut out the cores, stem and base. Immerse the pear halves in the wine mixture and return to a simmer. Cover your pan and cook gently until the pears are tender (soft but not mushy). Remove pears (chill in refrigerator) and strain out spices, then return the liquid to the pan and boil it down into a heavy syrup.
Serve the pears cold with warm syrup and ice cream (I used cinnamon ice cream - see variations here) or custard sauce. Any leftover syrup makes a great accompaniment to ice cream. Enjoy!
Note - Metric Info: 2 cups = 470 ml; 1 cup = 240 ml; 10 oz = 280g.
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