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Poached pears with red wine and star anise

5
5
5
SmartPoints® value per serving
Total Time
1 hr 4 min
Prep
10 min
Cook
50 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
Here's a combination of flavors that you think would never go together, but once you give this a taste, you'll find yourself making it over and over again. These poached pears feature not only herbal tea, but red also red wine, whole cardamom pods, star anise, and pistachios. To neatly remove the core from each pear, use a melon baller. To make this dessert even more convenient, the pears can be prepared ahead and refrigerated in the wine mixture—before it is reduced—up to 3 days. Remove the pears from the wine mixture and reduce it as directed in step 4.

Ingredients

water

2 cup(s), boiling

tea bag

3 item(s), Red Zinger or Raspberry Zinger

red wine

16 fl oz, (2 cups), dry

sugar

½ cup(s)

orange zest

3 strip(s), (3-inch), removed with vegetable peeler

cardamom pods

2 item(s)

star anise

1 item(s)

raw Bosc pear(s)

4 item(s), (1/2-pound each), firm-ripe, peeled, halved, and cored

plain fat free Greek yogurt

½ cup(s)

shelled pistachio nuts

2 Tbsp, coarsely chopped

Instructions

  1. Pour boiling water into glass measuring cup or bowl; add tea bags and let steep 4 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard; pour tea into large saucepan. Add wine, sugar, orange zest, cardamom pods, and star anise; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
  2. Reduce heat to simmer and add pears; place sheet of wax paper on top of pears to keep them submerged. Cook, covered, until pears are just tender when pierced with small knife, 30–35 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; uncover and let pears cool in wine mixture.
  3. When pears are cool, with slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl; set aside.
  4. Bring wine mixture to boil over high heat. Boil until reduced to about 2⁄3 cup, 10–15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and let syrup cool to room temperature. Discard orange zest, cardamom, and star anise.
  5. To serve, place 1 pear half, cut side up, in each of 8 serving dishes or dessert plates. Spoon syrup evenly over pears. Spoon yogurt evenly on top of or alongside pears and sprinkle with pistachios.
  6. Per serving: 1 pear half, about 1 1/2 tablespoons syrup, 1 tablespoon yogurt, and scant 1 teaspoon pistachios

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