Poached Pears In Spiced Tea Bbc Good Food

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.

GINGER-SPICED PEARS

Steps:

• Put the sugar, vinegar, orange zest and juice, ginger, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then boil for 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, peel, core and halve or quarter the pears, depending on size. Add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 10-15 mins until they are just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and pack into warm sterilised Kilner jars with rubber seals (see tip below).
• Boil the vinegar mixture hard to reduce by a third, then pour over the pears, including the spices. The pears need to be completely covered with the liquid. Fit the rubber seal and clamp the jar tightly closed. Reserve any leftover syrup for topping up the jars later, as the pears will absorb the syrup over time. Store for up to 2 months.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

SPICED TEA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine the water, brown sugar, cranberry sauce and honey. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; add tea bags. Cover and steep for 5-8 minutes., Meanwhile, core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears; cut a thin slice from bottom to level if necessary. Remove and discard tea bags. Add pears to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove pears with a slotted spoon and keep warm., In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups tea mixture to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes., In a small bowl, combine the creme fraiche, confectioners' sugar and orange zest. Place pears on dessert plates. Drizzle with syrup and serve with sauce.

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.

SPINACH AND PEAR SALAD

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
• Place the pear slices in a large bowl.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon dressing over pears; toss to coat.
• Add the remaining dressing, spinach, and onion; toss to coat.

POACHED PEARS IN AUSTRALIAN SHIRAZ

Steps:

• Place the pears in a saucepan then pour over the red wine, sugar and port. Add the juice and zest of the lemon, ginger and the cinnamon stick then bring to the boil.
• Simmer in the red wine mixture until the pears are bright red and almost tender, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove the pears from the liquid, then boil the pear liquid until it has reduced and is syrupy.
• Return the pears to the syrup and allow the mixture to cool until ready to serve.

POACHED PEARS IN GINGER-LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• With a vegetable peeler, pare yellow part only of peel from lemon.
• Cut peel into julienne strips to make 1 table- spoon.
• Ream enough lemon to make 1 tablespoon juice. In a 5 to 6 quart pan, combine lemon peel, lemon juice, ginger, sugar and 3 cups water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add pears and more water, if needed, to cover them.
• Simmer, covered, until pears are tender when pierced, about 30 minutes.
• Put pears in 6 shallow-rimmed dishes or shallow bowls.
• On high heat, boil syrup, uncovered, until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 40 minutes.
• Pour syrup over pears.
• Cool, cover and chill until cold or up to 2 days.

POACHED PEARS IN SAUTERNES

Steps:

• Using a small, sharp knife, score a zigzag pattern in the skin around the top of each pear, working downwards from the stalk.
• Leaving the zigzag skin at the top in place, peel the rest of each pear very thinly so as to preserve their shape.
• Remove the core from the base, using a corer or a small melon baller.
• Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan big enough to hold everything, including the pears.
• Set over a medium heat until the liquid comes to the boil, then reduce the heat so that it is barely simmering.
• The cooking time will vary according to the ripeness of the pears.
• Very ripe pears will only take 5 minutes; much less ripe fruit will need up to 15 minutes.
• As soon as they are ready, turn off the heat.
• Transfer the pears with their poaching syrup to a bowl and leave at room temperature until needed.
• Serve one or two pears on each plate with a little orange zest and some syrup.

SPICED POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine the water, red wine, lemon juice, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Place the pears in an ovenproof dish and pour the syrup over them.
• Poach at 150°C (300°F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until tender.
• Pour a small amount of the syrup in the bottom of dessert dishes and place the pears on top.
• Serve with whipped cream.

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.