Merlot Poached Pears With Vanilla Cinnamon Food

POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA AND CINNAMON

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients except the pears in a stainless steel saucepan, do not turn on the heat. Peel the pears, add them to the pan once they are peeled, then place them onto the stove and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook the pears carefully. Once cooked, remove the pan from the heat and allow the pears to cool in the sugar syrup. To check if they are cooked, take a paring knife and push it into the middle of the fruit. If the pears feel soft, they are cooked. They can be served hot or cold.

MERLOT-POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA & CINNAMON

Steps:

• Tip the wine, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla into a deep medium pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the pears, making sure they are fully covered by the wine, then simmer for 30 mins until they are just tender. If the pears are very ripe, they may be ready in 20 mins. Can be made up to 2 days ahead - leave the pears in the syrup in the fridge until you're ready to finish the recipe.
• Remove the pears from the pan with a slotted spoon and boil the syrup for 30 mins to reduce it and make it more syrupy. Cool, then chill for up to 2 days. Remove from the fridge 1 hr before serving.

POACHED PEARS IN HONEY, GINGER AND CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, Simple Syrup, cinnamon stick halves, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean and seeds to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.
• Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick halves and the vanilla bean and discard.
• Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

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.

RED WINE POACHED PEAR FILLED WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM AND TOPPED WITH GRANOLA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, add the wine, sugar, cloves, pears, cinnamon, vanilla and orange zest and bring to a simmer. Cut out a circle of parchment paper and fit this on top of the liquid to keep the pears submerged. Simmer the pears until fork-tender, flipping them once, about 40 minutes. Remove the pears from the wine with a slotted spoon and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Continue to reduce the wine mixture on high heat until it becomes syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain.
• Top each pear half with some ice cream, granola and a drizzle of the wine reduction. Finish your art with mint and devour it.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• For the pears: Remove a large strip of peel from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl filled with water. Peel, halve and core the pears, adding the pears to the lemon water as you work (this will prevent them from browning).
• Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon stick and reserved lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pears from the lemon water and add to the wine mixture. Boil the pears until tender, 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid to a wire rack to cool. If desired, continue to boil the poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• For the vanilla bean custard sauce: Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the cream mixture along with the scraped bean. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, then remove from the heat and remove the vanilla bean.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add a little of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Remove the custard from the saucepan and cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon some of the custard sauce onto serving plates and top each with a pear half. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with candied pecans, if desired.

VANILLA & WHITE WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Before you start, cut out a circle of baking parchment using a large pan as a template. (This is called a cartouche, and will cover the pears later - it should be the same size as the pan to keep the pears submerged and the liquid from evaporating too quickly). Set aside. Tip the sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla seeds and pod, cardamom, wine and 200ml water into the pan. Peel strips of the lemon zest, avoiding the pith. Drop in the strips of zest, then warm over a low heat until the mix is steaming and the sugar has dissolved.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact. Slice in half lengthways through the core, then use a melon baller or small, sharp knife to remove the hard core and pips. Carefully place the pears in the steaming liquid, then turn up the heat to medium- low and bring to a simmer. Cover the surface with the circle of baking parchment and cook the pears for 20-30 mins, or until they can be pierced with the tip of a knife with little resistance.
• Meanwhile, sterilise two 1-litre jam jars. When the pears are cooked and still hot, transfer to the jars with any aromatics from the pan. Top up with the poaching liquid so the pears are covered. Seal and leave to cool. Will keep for up to six months in a cool place. Serve with ice cream or hot chocolate sauce, if you like.