TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Poires au Vin RougePears Poached in Red Wine with Honey and Vanilla
- Total
- 26 hr
- Difficulty
- ★★☆☆☆
- Serves
- 4 servings
- Prep 15 min
- Cook 45 min
- Rest 25 hr
A French dessert of pears simmered with their peel in red wine flavored with honey and spices. Refrigerate submerged in the poaching liquid for 24 hours and serve with the cold liquid.
AUTHENTICITY SCORE
Authenticity Score
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Ingredients (4 servings)
100Authenticity- Firm pears4 pears1 pear: 200–250g, with stems; choose fruit that has not softened through ripening. Rumen uses Williams pears, called Bartlett in the United States, or Passe Crassane.
- Lemon1 lemonThinly peel half the zest for the poaching liquid; rub the cut side of the rest over the pears.
- Tannic red wine500 mlSuch as Côtes-du-Rhône or Madiran.
- Honey50 g
- Cassonade75 gLight brown cane sugar.
- Vanilla pods2 podsSplit lengthwise.
- Coriander seeds6 seeds
- White peppercorns0.5 gA pinch.
- Nutmega littleA small amount.
Method
Peel the pears with stems intact and blanch the lemon peel
- 1 Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Thinly peel half the lemon zest without the white pith, add it to the water and boil for 1 minute, then discard the water.
- 2 Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler, leaving the stems attached; reserve the pear peel.
- 3 Rub the cut surface of the lemon over the entire surface of each pear.
Ready when
Continue when all 4 pears are peeled with stems intact and coated with lemon juice.
Caution
Peeled pears turn brown if left exposed.
Gently simmer the red wine with the peel and aromatics for 10 minutes
- 1 Use a deep saucepan that can hold all 4 pears standing upright. Add the reserved pear peel, 500ml red wine, 50g honey, 75g cassonade, the blanched lemon peel, 0.3g white peppercorns, 6 coriander seeds, 0.2g nutmeg and 1.5 vanilla pods split lengthwise.
- 2 Heat over medium heat; when the liquid begins to bubble gently, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Ready when
Continue when the honey and cassonade have dissolved and the liquid smells of spices and vanilla.
Add the pears stem-side up and poach covered over low heat for 20 minutes
- 1 Lower each pear into the liquid on a ladle, standing it gently with the stem pointing up.
- 2 Cover and poach at a gentle simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- 3 Insert a skewer into the thickest part of a pear; if there is resistance, cook in further 5-minute increments.
Ready when
Continue when the skewer reaches the center easily, the pears keep their shape and the submerged surfaces have turned red.
Caution
A vigorous boil can break down the pear surfaces.
Cool in the liquid, then refrigerate submerged for 24 hours
- 1 Remove from the heat and leave covered in the poaching liquid at room temperature for 1 hour.
- 2 Lay the pears in a storage container, pour in the liquid to submerge them and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Ready when
Continue when the pears are cold to the core and uniformly red.
Stand the pears in serving dishes and pour over the cold liquid
- 1 Stand 1 pear in each serving dish.
- 2 Remove the peel and spices from the poaching liquid and pour it over the pears while cold.
Ready when
The dessert is ready when the pears stand upright and are coated all over with cold liquid.
Caution
Alcohol remains in the poaching liquid.
About this dish
Pears cooked in wine are said to have been among the relatively plain dishes prepared as far back as the time of the cook Taillevent.
In home cooking of the mid-18th century, pears were simmered with water, spices and sugar, with red wine added partway through. They were served with the warm syrup after it had been reduced.
Today, wine-poached pears are associated with the vineyard traditions of Beaujolais and also appear on menus in Gascony, in southwestern France.
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