Look, what can I say – this is the weird life of a woman: one moment I am ranting about the patriarchy and the next I am giving you a recipe for poached pears.
But what a recipe! I love poached pears so much but have never managed to re-create them at home until now.
This is just wonderful, I broke out of my cooking rut to do this for Giles’s birthday the other day, and Giles, who doesn’t like sweet things, raved about them.
Poached pears
4 of those fat pears that look like the Venus of Willendorf (do more than you need because they keep well)
1 bottle of really cheap wine – I used Shiraz
200g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise fruit (optional)
The trick to a successful poached pear is the kind of pan you poach it in; in the past I have used wide, flat pans and the pears sort of roll about and don’t poach properly. You need the closest thing you have to a stock pot with high sides so that when you glug the wine in, it creates a deep pool of liquid for the pears to really sink into
1 Take your deep narrow pan and pour in the red wine, the sugar, the cinnamon and the star anise and place it on a medium heat and warm until you reckon the sugar has dissolved.
2 Peel the pears and drop them in. The recipe said 20-30 mins but I left mine simmering away for probably 45 mins to an hour. The pears will be ready when a toothpick goes in easily.
3 Take the pears out and set aside. Fish out the cinnamon stick and star anise and now boil that sucker until the sauce is reduced by about two thirds and is thick and glossy.
Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream or just on its own with the sauce spooned over. SO DELICIOUS.
***nb I did not take the picture of those pears
We have so many pears from our Oddbox now. Thank you for reminding us about poached pears…
They’re delicious for breakfast with yoghurt
You can also poach/roast them. Makes it easier if you ‘prep’ them by coring and halving them so you lay them flat. Add booze/sugar/spices and slow poach at 150for 45/1hr. then boil down the goo. They freeze really really well if youre like me and live in the middle of nowhere and have a LOT of pear trees.
FYI that wasn’t meant to sound smug ‘look how many pear trees i have’ just there are lots and feel guilty if i don’t at least use some of the free fruit…
*Crocus inexplicably sees pyrus communalis sales spike*
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“Met these new people the other day and they were really lovely and we had so much in common but I just don’t ever see us being proper friends – they just didn’t have enough pear trees …”
The glut problem is real
I bloody love a poached pear 😋😋😍
So – I love poached pears too and I have found a real cheat way is to use one of those bottles of mulled wine that you can buy for about £1.99 at Christmas and inevitably end up not being drunk at Christmas and then you have it hanging around.