| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 13 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Inactive: | 12 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 13 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Inactive: | 12 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 bottle red wine (recommended: Shiraz/Syrah or Zinfandel)
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 4 cardamom seeds
- 2 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 Bartlett pears, peeled
- Creamy Pistachio Nut Filling, recipe follows
- 1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Juice the lemon and orange, reserving the juiced citrus halves. Put the juice, citrus halves, wine, water, honey, ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, star anise and bay leaf in a wide saucepot. Gently place the pears into the liquid. Make a circle of parchment paper that is 1/2-inch larger than the pot and cover surface completely with the parchment paper (see Cook’s Note*). Make sure the pears are fully submerged but not touching the bottom of the pot. Bring the poaching liquid and pears to a boil, then reduce the heat to just below a simmer.
- Cook the pears until fork tender. Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the base; there should be little resistance when fully cooked. Gently transfer pears to a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour enough poaching liquid over pears just to cover. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight; the longer the pears soak, the darker they will become.
- Strain remaining poaching liquid and return to saucepan. Cook over high heat until a syrupy consistency is achieved or the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Chill until the pears are served.
- Use a parisienne scoop to remove each pear’s core, hollowing out a 1-inch wide cavity that starts at the base and extends 3/4 of the way up the pear. Transfer the Creamy Pistachio Nut Filling to a piping bag without a tip. Gently fill the pear cavity until it slightly overflows. (The overflow will help to provide a sticky surface to stand the pear up on.) Place the pear, base side down, in a bowl and surround with 1-ounce of the syrup. Serve.
- In a medium-sized bowl, cream the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in the pistachio nuts.
- Use immediately or refrigerate and return to room temperature before filling the pears.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 203 calorie |
| Total Fat | 0 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 0 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 milligrams |
| Sodium | 10 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 42 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 grams |
| Protein | 1 grams |
| Sugar | 30 grams |
| Calories | 203 calorie |
| Total Fat | 0 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 0 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 milligrams |
| Sodium | 10 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 42 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 grams |
| Protein | 1 grams |
| Sugar | 30 grams |
Reviews
I set a pear in a puddle of the reduced wine sauce, with a triangle of good bleu cheese set on end next to the pear, rather than using the filling in the recipe. I also add a bit of fresh ground black pepper to the sauce before I set the pear in it. This gets great reviews!
Beautiful and simple – I serve with rose infused Greek yogurt and a rose geranium leaf for a natural finish and appeal!
After tasting the fluid the pears were soaking, I began to get nervous, thinking the pears would be “wine-y” and too strong for consumption. Boy was I wrong! They were perfect & the filling is a great accompaniment!
This was so friggin’ awesome. The pears had a wonderful Christmasy sort of taste while the Mascarpone cream filling added depth that made mouths WATER. People were walking around coveting them, you’d swear they’d take a bite out of YOU if you tried to take it from them. This one is a HIT!
What a wonderful fruit dessert! I made this on the spur of the moment, using ingredients that I had on hand (5 pears, finely chopped pecan praline instead of pistachios in the filling, and 3/4 of a bottle of shiraz wine). The results were wonderful. I did have filling left over which I plan to use tomorrow piped between small spice cookies.
this recipe feels simple to make, if you spread it over two days, and i loved it. i let the pears sit in their poaching liquid 24 hrs, and they were pinot noir gorgeous. an the filling was the one extra surprise!