Red Wine Poached Pears with Cinnamon
Serves 6 20 min prep 30 min cook
Whole pears gently poached in red wine, vanilla and cinnamon until ruby-red and tender, then served with reduced spiced syrup.
Ingredients
- 6 firm ripe pears, peeled with stalks intact
- 750 ml red wine
- 225 g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, optional
Method
- Place the wine, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and thyme in a saucepan large enough to hold the pears.
- Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Lower the pears into the liquid and cover.
- Poach gently for 20 to 30 minutes, turning occasionally if they are not fully submerged.
- Check that the pears are tender with the point of a small knife.
- Remove the pears carefully and set aside.
- Boil the poaching liquid until reduced by roughly half and syrupy.
- Serve the pears with the wine syrup spooned over them.
- Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.