If you're looking for a simple, yet impressive dessert idea, our mulled wine spiced pears are a lovely sweet treat.
When poaching pears, look for a firmer variety of pear so when they're cooked they won't disintegrate or lose their shape.
We've gone for a mulled spice flavour by poaching in a fruity red wine, cinnamon and an orange.
Poach until the pears are tender and a knife goes through easily, and serve with vanilla ice cream or homemade custard.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Cal/Serv:
150
Ingredients
6Tbsp.
honey
6Tbsp.
light muscovado sugar
300ml
full-bodied, fruity red wine
1
cinnamon stick or large pinch of ground cinnamon
pared rind and juice of 1 large orange
6
small pears, ripe but firm
Directions
Step 1
Mix together the honey, sugar, wine, cinnamon, orange rind and juice in a medium saucepan. Gently heat together until the sugar dissolves, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Step 2
Meanwhile, peel the pears with a vegetable peeler, leaving the stalks intact to make them easier to handle. Cut a thin slice from the base of each pear so that it sits upright. Lower into the wine.
Step 3
Add enough water just to cover the pears and set a heatproof plate on top to keep them immersed in the liquid. Poach the pears at a gentle simmer for 20-25min until tender when pierced with a knife.
Step 4
Lift the cooked pears from the pan and lie flat in a serving dish. Put the saucepan back on the hob, bring to the boil and bubble for 15-20min until the syrup has reduced and is syrupy - the time will depend on how much water was added to cover the pears. Strain the wine over the pears to colour them evenly, then cover with clingfilm and chill overnight (this allows the flavour and colour to intensify). Stand the pears upright in the syrup to serve.
To freeze: Cool and freeze the cooked pears in the syrupy wine.To serve: Thaw the pears overnight in the fridge and serve chilled. To serve hot, return the pears and syrup to a saucepan and warm through gently on the hob for about 10min.
Use Comice and Conference pears:
Firm pears such as Comice and Conference are best for poaching.
Try other spices in the syrup, such as sliced fresh root ginger or whole cloves.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
