Mulled Wine Poached Pears
These mulled wine poached pears are sweet, tender & flavoured with warming Winter spices. It's a festive twist on the classic French dessert!
Servings: 6 People
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Veg Peeler
- Melon Baller
- Juicer
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 6 Conference Pears
- 1 Lemon (Juiced)
Mulled Wine
- 750 ml Red Wine (See Notes)
- 1 Orange
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 5 Cloves
- ½ A Vanilla Pod (Or 1 tsp Of Vanilla Paste)
- Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Mulled Wine Syrup - Optional
- 75 g Caster Sugar
Instructions
Prepping The Pears
- Fill a bowl with cold water then stir in the lemon juice.
- Next, peel the pears with a vegetable peeler then cut a small amount off the bottom of each pear, so that they sit flat.
- Use a melon baller (or a teaspoon) to scoop out the core from the bottom of each pear then place into the lemon water (this stops them going brown).I'd recommend working with one pear at a time. Coring the pears is optional as well!
Mulled Wine
- Add the red wine into a large saucepan then cut the peel off the orange & add both the peel & juice into the wine.Try to get as little pith on the peel as possible. Make sure to use a pan big enough to hold all the pears.
- Next, add the sugar, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf, cloves, vanilla & a small amount of grated nutmeg into the wine then set the pan over a low heat. If you're using a vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out with a knife then add both the seeds & pod into the wine.
- Gently warm the wine, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved then add in the pears, making sure that they are completely covered.If the wine doesn't cover the pears, use a smaller pan or add in more wine. You'll need to lay the pears on their side.
- Make a cartouche of baking parchment (a circle of parchment) with a vent hole cut in the centre then place over the pears.See the post above for a guide to making a cartouche!
- Simmer the pears gently (but don't boil!) until they're cooked through. This will take around 20-45 minutes, depending on the size & ripeness of your pears.Use a skewer to check if the pears are cooked. They'll feel soft when they're ready.
- Once cooked, take the pears out of the wine & let both components cool.
- Place the pears & wine into a container (together) then refrigerate overnight before serving.This gives the pears the best flavour & colour. If you'd like to make a syrup with the wine, to serve with the pears, see the instruction below.
Mulled Wine Syrup
- Take the pears out of the wine & set aside then pass the wine into a saucepan, through a sieve.
- Add the sugar into the wine then set the pan over a high heat. Bring to the boil then cook the wine for 5-10 minutes, until it has reduced into a thickened sauce.
- Let the wine cool then drizzle over the pears, to serve.
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1. To Cook On An Aga - Use the simmering plate to make the mulled wine. Once you've added the pears, bring the wine to a simmer then transfer to the simmering oven. The pears will take around 1-1½ hours to cook.
2. Pears - I used Conference pears when I made this recipe but Bosc or Anjou also work well. The pears should be slightly under ripe otherwise they'll be too soft once they are cooked.
3. Red Wine - I used a Cabernet Sauvignon for poaching my pears but some other good options would be a Zinfandel, Shiraz or Merlot.
4. Storage - Poached pears should be stored in the fridge & are best eaten within 3 days.
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