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–+ servings

Poached Pears

Impress your guests this fall with this delicious and easy-to-make poached pears recipe. With just a few ingredients and simple instructions, you can enjoy this warm and indulgent dessert in no time.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Print Recipe

Servings

6

Ingredients

  • 6 pears
  • 1 cups red wine (merlot or similar)
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 strips orange zest
  • 2 whole cloves*
  • 1 stick cinnamon*
  • ¼ tsp Allspice*
  • ¼ tsp cardamom*

Instructions

  • Combine the wine, water, honey, orange zest and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to a simmer.
  • Peel the pears, leaving the stem intact.
  • Gently place the pears in the liquid.
  • Cover the pot and simmer the pears for 30 minutes. If the liquid doesn’t cover the pears, turn the pears halfway through cooking.
  • Remove the pears from the liquid and turn up the heat to cook the liquid until reduced to a syrup consistency.

Notes

Once the pears are done, you can serve them a variety of ways:
  • Serve with a spiced cake topped with salty pistachios
  • Serve with a scoop of ice cream, garnished with fresh mint leaves
  • Serve with yogurt and granola
  • Serve plain, garnished with chopped sweet nuts
  • Serve whole, cut in half, or fanned out
The spices are optional, and you can use whichever spices you like in this recipe. To fan it out, cut the pear in half, then cut thin slices leaving the top connected, gently fan it out, and place on a plate.
Advice: This dish can be made up to a week in advance. The reduction can be served with the pears or on its own like a syrup over ice cream or yogurt. However, it is not recommended to freeze this dish as the pears tend to get mushy.