Cinnamon Anise Poached Pears Recipes

POACHED PEARS (POIRES POCHEES)

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add lemon juice and pears and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove pears from the hot water 1 at a time and carefully peel, leaving stem intact.
• Combine wine, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and star anise in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Rinse pears and add to the boiling wine mixture. Use a plate on top of pears to keep them submerged. Simmer until a knife very easily pierces the pears, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and allow pears to cool in the wine mixture.
• Serve pears in a bowl, either whole or sliced and cored.

STAR ANISE-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine sugar, 2 tablespoons water, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean in heavy large saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/4 cups water (mixture will bubble vigorously). Bring to simmer, stirring until pieces of caramel dissolve. Add pears, cover and simmer until tender, turning pears once, about 5 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to bowl. Boil liquid in saucepan until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Pour syrup over pears; toss gently to coat. Chill until cold, at least 3 hours or overnight. Divide pears and syrup among 4 shallow bowls and serve.

POACHED PEARS WITH ASIAN SPICES

Steps:

• Combine sugar and spices with 5 cups water in a medium saucepan (large enough to accommodate the pears upright), and turn heat to high. Peel pears, leaving stems on, then core them.
• Lower pears into the water, and adjust heat to gentle simmer. Cook pears, turning them every 5 minutes or so, until they meet little resistance when prodded with a thin-bladed knife, usually 10 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, and cool pears in liquid.
• Place pears on serving plates. (At this point they can also be covered and refrigerated up to a day; they should be brought to room temperature before serving.) Reduce the poaching liquid to about a cup (it can also be stored for a day), then spoon a little over each pear before serving.