Pears Poached in Spiced Red Wine

We are in Nice over the holidays, and our friends Ruth and Mark invited us to Christmas dinner with their family.  In Nice, there is a tradition of finishing the Christmas meal with 13 deserts.  The deserts represent the 12 apostles and Christ and are left out, buffet style, to be consumed over the next three days.  We made Poached Pears in Spiced Red Wine and Claire's Tart Lemon Tart (earlier blog) as two of the thirteen deserts.

Pears Poached in Spiced Red Wine

Because we were staying in a short term rental apartment, we only had basic staples such as salt, pepper and sugar.  This provided a guilt free excuse to visit the market one more time to shop for spices as well as pears and lemons.   

There are two great markets in Nice, the Flower Market on Cours Saleya in the old town and the much larger market in Libération.  We went to the Flower Market, which is much more than just flowers with great selections of herbs and spices, as well as fruits and vegetables, and were fortunate to find Secs de Saint Martin Pears.  These are smallish, very firm pears that are perfect for poaching.  

Poached Pears in Spiced Red Wine

• 1 bottle of Cote de Rhône red wine
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 10 Secs de Saint Martin pears, or other firm small pear
• 8 peppercorns
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• juice of one lemon
• 3 strips of lemon peel
• 1/2 cup of unprocessed cane sugar

Choose a stainless steel pan that is deeper than the pears and large enough that the pears do not touch each other.  Add wine, lemon juice and water, sugar and lemon peel, and mix.  Add spices and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  

Meanwhile, peel pears with a small sharp knife and remove the core of the pears from the bottom being careful to leave the stem in place.  Cut a slice off the bottom of each pear to allow it to stand upright.

Place the pears in the spiced wine mixture and slowly simmer for for an hour or until the pears are soft. The slower the poaching process, the deeper and richer the red colour and flavour of the pears.  When the pears are done, remove the pears from the poaching broth, and strain the liquid.  Return the liquid to the pot and gently boil to reduce liquid by about 75% or until slightly syrupy.

I prefer serving the pears at room temperature with a bit of the syrup, however my daughter loves them warm, with a big spoonful of whipped cream melting over the top and we have been know to eat leftovers cold for breakfast the next morning.