Sweet Wine Poached Pears
Aromatic pears slowly poached in sweet white wine flavored with vanilla and cinnamon — an elegant French dessert.
Ingredients
firm dessert pears (keep stems intact)
8
golden raisins or yellow currants
150 g
Sauternes sweet white wine or other aromatic sweet wine
200 ml
vanilla pods (cut lengthwise into quarters)
2
cinnamon stick (crushed lengthwise into pieces)
1
vanilla sugar
100 g
Instructions
1
Preparing the Pears
Using a peeler, shave even vertical strips of peel from the surface of each pear, leaving 6-8 thin strips of skin on each as decoration. Use an apple corer to remove the center of each pear, take out the core and the base, push the stemmed top back into place, then fill the bottom of each pear with raisins.
2
Poaching the Pears
In a small pot, heat the sweet wine, vanilla pods, cinnamon pieces, and sugar. When the syrup comes to a boil, use a spoon to lower the pears (kept upright) into the pot, cover with the lid, and simmer over low heat for 15-18 minutes until the pears are tender. After cooling, place the pears on a shallow plate and serve with the cooled syrup drizzled alongside.
