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Photo of Poached pears in red wine by WW

Poached pears in red wine

6
6
6
SmartPoints® value per serving
Total Time
28 min
Prep
10 min
Cook
18 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Fresh pears are nice, but sometimes, pears poached in a citrus and vanilla-spiked wine sauce are even nicer. You can use any kind of pears (or even apples) you'd like in this recipe. For a nice touch, reduce the poaching liquid by half to form a thicker syrup that you can spoon over the pears before serving. It’s easy to change the flavor, too, by adding a cinnamon stick and two whole cloves instead of the vanilla and peppercorns. The poached pears can be refrigerated, in a covered glass dish, for several days. Sprinkle with the zest just before serving.

Ingredients

Red wine

14 fl oz, fruity-variety

Water

½ cup(s)

Honey

⅓ cup(s), preferably mild

Vanilla extract

1 tsp

Peppercorn

¼ tsp, use 6 whole peppercorns

Orange zest

4 tsp, divided, or to taste

Pear(s)

6 medium, peeled, cored and halved

Instructions

  1. In a large heavy pot, combine wine, water, honey, vanilla, peppercorns and 2 teaspoons zest; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until honey is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  2. Place pear halves in syrup; cover pot and poach over a low heat, turning pear halves occasionally. After about 10 minutes, test for doneness with a fork: pears should be just tender. Poach longer, if needed. The timing will vary depending on variety and ripeness of pears.
  3. Let pears cool in wine sauce; turn them once or twice while cooling to give them a nice even color. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons zest before serving. Yields 2 pear halves per serving.