Poached Pears
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
  • Servings: 6
  • 6 Bosc pears
  • 1 orange, juiced and pared zest
  • 1 2/3 cups of Sauvignon Blanc
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup sugar
  • juice from 2 lemons (my lemons were tiny..like...lime size so I used 4 lemons)
  • 1 vanilla pod, split
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into short lengths
  • 4 cloves
DIRECTIONS
  1. With a little knife, score a zigzag pattern in the skin around the top of each pear. Peal the skin off the body of the pear, leaving the zigzag pattern along the top, kinda like a collar, leaving the stem in tack
  2. You want to be careful when peeling....so you can preserve the pears shape as much as possible
  3. Remove the core from the bottom of each pear.
  4. Cut the orange zest into strips. Now....this was new to me. Every time I've zested an orange...it was with a grater. This process required me to sorta gently cut the zest away without the white stuff. So I used a knife and thinly "peeled" the orange. I ended up with some pith still attached but not too much.
  5. Combine everything in a large pot
  6. Over a medium heat, bring liquid to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until pears are done. Which I think would mean, tender yet firm. The time frame can vary, depending on ripeness...5 - 15 minutes.
  7. Since bosc pears are general a very firm pear (which is why I chose them for this recipe) I let them cook a bit longer.
  8. With a large slotted spoon, remove the pears and place in a bowl. Remove all the seasonings and discard. At this point, I allowed the liquid to simmer a bit longer to get more of a syrup consistency which didn't happen.....I was afraid the flavors would end up...I dunno...overcooked. Have you ever smelled cinnamon and citrus that's overcooked? Maybe in a potpourri? Well, i didn't want my syrup to taste like that.
  9. Pour "syrup" over the pears and set aside until ready to serve
RECIPE BACKSTORY
I had to find a recipe that used sauvignon blanc as part of the Wine Pairing and Virtual Tasting assignment for this month. I didn't want to make the typical white sauce over chicken...dessert sounded more fun. So this is what I found