Poached pears are a simple way to turn a bottle of wine and a handful of ripe, but still slightly firm, pears into a sensational dessert. The addition of lemon and anise play up the citrusy notes and give it a surprising, satisfying finish.
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 55 min |
Ingredients
- 4 ripe Anjou or Bosc pears
- 3 1/2 cups pinot grigio
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 long strip lemon peel
- 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds, optional
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, for serving
- Dulce de leche, for serving
- 4 small anise tortas or thin, sweet crackers, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Peel, halve, and core the pears, leaving one end intact. Combine the pinot grigio, 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, lemon peel, and anise seeds, if using, in a medium saucepan over high heat, and cook about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the pears, cut-side down, in one layer, making sure that the liquid covers the pears completely. Cover and simmer until the pears are tender but intact, 30 to 40 minutes.
- 2. Remove the pears and set aside at room temperature. Remove the lemon peel from the liquid and continue simmering until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the pears with the syrup and a dollop of mascarpone cheese or dulce de leche or both. Top with an anise torta or other thin, sweet cracker.