Red Wine Poached Pears With Vanilla Bean Custard Recipes

POACHED PEARS IN RED WINE WITH VANILLA CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the vanilla custard sauce ahead of time to allow it to cool before serving.
• Cut a small amount from the ridges at the bottom of each pear so the end is flat and the pears will stand upright. With a small paring knife, remove the core from the bottom of each pear by turning the knife around and around until you have whittled out the core. Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact.
• In a 4-quart pot, pour in the bottle of wine. Fill the wine bottle with water and then add the water to the pot with the wine so you have a 50/50 mix of wine and water. Add sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon rind and bring to a boil.
• Gently add pears and cover with a dish or pan so they stay submerged under the liquid.
• Gently boil for 40 minutes or until tender. Use a small skewer or tooth pick to see if they are done.
• Remove pears to a plate with a slotted spoon, cover and refrigerate.
• Bring the liquid back to a boil and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to one cup. The finished wine sauce will thicken as it reduces. Let the sauce cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon wine sauce onto the bottom of a small flat dish or bowl, add drops of vanilla custard sauce to the wine sauce (if you'd like, use a toothpick and make decorative swirls). Place a pear in the center of the dish and serve.

POACHED PEARS IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Fill a bowl with cold water and add all but 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice.
• Peel, halve, and core each pear.
• Place them in the bowl of lemon water to rest; the lemon juice will help prevent browning.
• Combine the red wine, sugar, the reserved 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan large enough to hold the pears.
• Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to reach a low simmer. Add the pears and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes on one side.
• Rotate the pears and continue to poach them for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender and are easily poked through with a fork.
• Remove the pears from the pan and cool them on a cooling rack or old, clean towel.
• Bring the wine sauce back up to a rolling simmer and cook until the liquid has been reduced by half.
• To serve, place one pear into a shallow bowl. Pour a stream of sauce over the fruit.
• Place one scoop of ice cream, mascarpone cheese, or crème fraiche next to the pear (if using). Serve and enjoy.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
• Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.
• Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.

POACHED PEARS IN SPICED RED WINE

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.