Wine Poached Pears

5 from 2 votes

This is just a simply elegant dessert! Serve with a dollop of plant-based cream, yogurt, or cultured soft vegan cheese, if desired.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Holiday, Nut-Free, Party, Soy-Free

Keyword: Pears, red wine

Servings:

Calories: 268.3kcal

Author: Cindy Thompson, MS, NBC-HWC | Trimazing! Health & Lifestyle Coaching

4 pears ripe but firm. Choose a firm variety, like Anjou, Bosc, or Forelle
1 750 ml bottle Red wine or cranberry, raspberry, or pomegranate juice
2 cups water
¼ cup pear brandy optional
½ cup sugar
1 orange juiced
3 strips orange peel taken off with a vegetable peeler, orange only, no white pith
1/2 lemon juiced
2 strips lemon peel taken off with a vegetable peeler, yellow only, no white pith
4 slices ginger about ¼-inch thick each
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 1-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
½ tsp pink peppercorns
½ tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp whole cloves
1 dollop vegan cream, yogurt, or vegan cultured soft cheese if desired, for serving

Get Recipe Ingredients

Carefully peel the pears. Leave the stem intact. You can cut lengthwise and remove the core, but it’s very elegant to level off the bottom so that the poached pear stands up beautifully in the center of a dessert plate when served. Trim the bottom prior to poaching.
In a heavy, deep saucepan, combine the wine (or juice), pear brandy (if using), water, sugar, orange juice and peel, lemon juice and peel, lemongrass, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, black and pink peppercorns, and sliced fresh ginger. Stir this together and carefully add the pears.
Bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer, covered, carefully turning them every 5 minutes so they color evenly from the poaching liquid.
After 25 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the liquid to cool, still turning the pears occasionally. They might not seem fully cooked, but they will still poach while the liquid is cooling.
Once cool, chill in the refrigerator overnight and carefully turn the pears every once and a while.
The next day, pull out the pears, strain the poaching liquid and discard the aromatics. Pour the liquid into a shallow saucepan and bring to a full boil. Boil until reduced by half and syrupy, about 30 minutes.
Let the syrup cool.
When time to serve, ladle a bit of the syrup in the bottom of a rimmed dessert plate, add a poached pear, and serve with a dollop of vegan (cashew or coconut) cream, yogurt, or soft cultured vegan cheese, if desired.