An excellent, light dessert of pears poached in wine and spices. I love the juices! We get our pears from our farmer’s market in the fall when they are in season here. Cookies might be something nice to enjoy with the pears.
Makes 4 Servings
4 Bosc pears, peeled & cored, seeds removed (a melon baller is a good tool for this)
Juice of ½ a lemon or more to taste
2 Tbsp. sugar
¼ cup liquid honey + more if necessary
1 cup white wine
½ cup water
½ a vanilla bean or ¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 whole cloves
Approximately ¼ of a whole star anise
1” piece of cinnamon stick
2 or 3 whole black peppercorns (opt.)
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise to open and expose the seeds; scrape them from the bean. Place all the ingredients, except the pears into a deep large skillet, bring to a boil; reduce the heat to low, taste to see if the mixture is sweet enough, adding a bit more honey to suit your taste.
Place the pears into the poaching liquid; cover and simmer for 10 minutes, turning the pears over after 5 minutes, checking with a very sharp knife to test for doneness. The pears should be just tender. Remove them to a glass dish large enough to hold the pears in one layer, using a slotted spoon.
Reduce the liquid until slightly syrupy, adding a bit more lemon juice if desired, then pour over the pears; chill the pears until cold or chill overnight.
