Red Wine Poached Pears

A wonderful recipe for fall and winter when pears are at their best!

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Total Time: 30 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED:

4 large or 6 small pears

2 - 4 cups dry red wine

½ -1 cup granulated sugar (you want about ½ cup sugar for every 2 cups wine)

1 medium lemon (for 1/2 tsp. zest and 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed juice)

1 cinnamon stick (optional)

MAKING IT:

Peel pears; core each pear from the bottom, leaving stem intact (alternatively, you can peel/core pears and cut them into quarters or halves). If poaching whole pears, cut a thin slice from the bottom of each pear so they stand upright.

Combine pears, red wine, lemon zest/juice, and sugar in a large stainless steel saucepan.  You want enough wine to cover the pears (turn whole pears on their sides if necessary). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes (longer if pears are firm or large)

Remove pears from saucepan.  Add cinnamon stick to wine and turn heat to medium high.  Boil gently for about 10-20 minutes or until the wine mixture is the consistency of maple syrup. Let the syrup cool slightly before spooning over pears (syrup will thicken as it cools). Serves 4-6.

NUTRITION:

Nutrition Information per serving (1 poached pear): 210 Calories; 0g Total Fat; (0g Sat Fat; 0g Trans Fat); 0mg Cholesterol; 0mg Sodium; 44g Total Carb; 5g Fiber; 33g Sugars (includes 17g Added Sugars); 1g Protein

TIPS:

Many varieties of pears work for this recipe including Bosc, Bartlett. You want them ripe but reasonably firm. I often choose smaller pears and then serve them along with ginger cookies or vanilla ice cream.

Pick a modestly priced dry red wine, but one that you enjoy drinking.  You might end up using quite a bit of wine to cover large whole pears, so perhaps buy another bottle to drink.

Cooking time for pears will vary depending on ripeness and pear variety. You want them fork tender but not mushy.