Pears Poached in Spiced Red Wine

"From Ruth Van Waerebeek’s “Everbody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook.” Ruth recommends this as an accompaniment to her Christmas Turkey. I make this once a year for Thanksgiving. Note: Prepare several hours prior to, if not the day before, serving."
 
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photo by Belgophile photo by Belgophile
photo by Belgophile
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Place the pears and the wine in a nonreactive medium-size saucepan. Be sure the wine completely covers the pears. Stud 4 of the lemon slices with the cloves and add them with all the other ingredients (except the mint) to the pears. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, until the pears are soft but not mushy, 25 to 35 minutes.
  • Transfer the pears to a serving bowl. Reduce the poaching liquid over high heat by one-third to concentrate the flavors. This may take up to 15 minutes. Pour over the pears—cinammon sticks and all—and let cool.
  • Let the pears sit for a few hours, or, ever better, overnight, so they can fully absorb the flavors in the wine. They will turn a beautiful vermillion color.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

My most cherished cookbook is Ruth Van Waerebeek's Everybody Eats Well in Belgium. It has been my inspiration for most of our family's special occasions and holiday meals and it was through exploring this book that cooking and entertaining became such a pleasurable hobby for me. The book is out of print, but I contacted Ruth to express my appreciation and ask her permission to include her recipes here. In her words: "My main concern when I wrote this book, was exactly that, that people around the globe would be able to taste these wonderful Belgian flavors! So, I don't have any objection that you post the recipes on the web."
 
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