Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears With Vanilla Mascarpone Whipped Cream Recipes

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients (except pears) in a saucepan. Make sure the saucepan is large enough for the pears to fit snugly in there, with just enough wiggle room for the pears to submerge in the poaching liquid at an angle as well.
• Bring the red wine to a simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• When the wine comes to a simmer, strain the red wine liquid (IF YOU USED FRESH FRUITS), to remove the seeds or fruit pulp. Discard the seeds and pulp, but NOT the cloves, orange peel and cinnamon. Add the cinnamon, cloves and peel back into the liquid and return the liquid back to the saucepan. You can skip this step if you didn't use fresh fruits with seeds and pulp.
• Peel the pears ONLY when the poaching liquid is ready (pears will discolor if you peel them too early).
• Lower the peeled pears into the poaching liquid.
• Let the pears poach in the liquid on medium-low heat (simmering) for 20 - 25 minutes, but rotate the pears every 5 minutes to ensure they poach evenly on all sides, including the tops of the pears.
• When the pears have been poached, keep them upright in the poaching liquid, and remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the pears to cool down in the poaching liquid.
• I prefer to serve poached pears chilled, but they can be served at room temperature as well.
• Before serving, remove the pears from the poaching liquid and leave them on a plate, covered with plastic wrap.
• Heat the remaining liquid in the saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid thickens slightly into a syrup. The cooking time depends on how much liquid is left, so keep an eye on it. If the syrup is too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
• Serve the pears on a serving plate, and brush them a little with the syrup to make the pears look shiny (optional).
• Pour a little syrup over individual pears, and serve with some whipped mascarpone cheese or whipped cream.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Carefully peel the full Pears, leaving the stem intact. Cut the bottom of the fruit so that they can stand in the pot, then set aside.Wash the orange then gently peel its skin. Try to keep the orange peels only and remove any of the bitter white membrane. Cut the orange peels into large strip.
• Place all the ingredients except the Pears in a large deep pot. Place on the stove and bring to a simmer to dissolve the Brown Sugar.
• Add the peeled Pears into the liquid and leave to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how ripe your pears are. Make sure to gently turn the fruits if the liquid does not fully submerge them so that they cook evenly. To check if the fruits are ready, prick with the tip of a knife: the fruit should be soft but still hold its shape.
• Remove the Pears from the liquid and place on a cooling rack standing up to cool. In the meantime, discard about half of the cooking liquid (see note 1) and increase the heat of your stove. Leave for 10 to 20 minutes to reduce into a thick syrup. Make sure to keep an eye on it so that it doesnt burn. Pass the syrup through a thin-mesh sieve to remove the orange peels and star anise pods.
• To serve, place each pears on an individual plate and pour some of the red wine syrup on the fruit. Optionally, add some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to finish the dessert.

SPICED RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Halve the lemon, and remove 3 wide strips of rind. Peel the pears, leaving a topknot of skin and the stem, if it's attached; rub with the cut lemon. Working from the bottom, core the pears.
• Choose a pot that will hold the pears snugly. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside the pot. Cut 4 slices from the lemon and put them, the strips of zest and all the other ingredients - except the pears - into the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and add the pears, tops up - it's O.K. if they're not fully submerged. Cover with the paper circle and the pot's lid.
• Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes - the pears should still be slightly firm but easily pierced with the tip of a knife; transfer them to a bowl. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes, pour over the fruit and discard the spices. Serve slightly warm, at room temperature or chilled, with or without cream.

POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Combine the wine, water, sugar and cinnamon in a deep nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.
• Add the pears and simmer 15 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Remove the pears from the liquid, draining them well, and place them in a bowl.
• Boil down the liquid until it is reduced to two cups and has become syrupy. Remove the cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid over the pears and refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
• To serve, place each pear standing up in a deep dish or goblet. Pour some of the cooking liquid over each.
• Stir the mascarpone to smooth it, then spoon a generous dollop on top of each pear. It will begin to drip down the sides of the pear. Dust with sifted cocoa and serve.

SPICED RED WINE-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE FILLING

Steps:

• Peel pears and leave stem intact. In a large saucepan, bring wine and an equal amount of cold water to a simmer. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and add to wine and water mixture. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and sugar, to taste. Add pears to liquid and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Cool pears in wine mixture to room temperature. You can refrigerate them in the poaching liquid until you're ready to fill them.
• Remove stems from pears and set stems aside. Core pears with an apple corer, leaving pear whole.
• Whisk together mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, pinch cinnamon and powdered sugar until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag, or if you do not have one, use wax paper tightly wrapped into a cone with the corner snipped off. Pipe filling into cored pears and finish by putting the stems gently into the mascarpone filling on top of the pears.
• Bring sauce up to a simmer and reduce by half. Add butter to reduced sauce and stir until combined. Spoon generously over pears. Cool to room temperature before serving.