Red Wine Poached Pears

Ingredients

• 6 pears, ripe but firm
• 1 bottle red Zinfandel wine
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 cloves
• 5 star anise
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 cup white sugar
• Pinch salt
• 12 blackberries
• Lime, zested, for garnish
• Goat cheese cream
• Candied pistachios

Instructions

1. Prepare the pears. Use a knife to crush the cardamom pods (the shells should break but not fall apart). Bring wine, sugar, spices, and salt up to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. (Ruby Port also works well in this recipe, but you’ll need less sugar in that case.) In the meantime, peel pears. Whether you slice the pear or keep it whole is up to you: I like cutting them to maximize the surface area between the fruit and wine, but a single small pear left whole, like a Seckel, makes a stunning presentation. It just depends on the event, my mood, and which variety I find that determines what I do. If you do slice them, remove the seeds using a 1/2 teaspoon. I used Comice in this recipe, since those looked the best at the market. They are big pears, hence the quarters (really, sixths).

2. Poach the pears. Place the pears in the poaching liquid and simmer for about 15-30 minutes. Time varies depending on the size of the pear and how firm/ripe it was to begin with. Watch carefully, since you don’t want them to become baby food. (Unless you have a baby. But they probably shouldn’t be eating this dish). When a sharp knife is easily inserted, you’re good to go. By all means, give one a taste to make sure.

When the pears are cooked, remove them from the liquid. If I’m in a rush to serve them, I will sometimes put them in the fridge for a bit to cool down. These are best enjoyed at room temperature, though, so keep that in mind whenever you’re serving them. While the pears are cooling, turn up the heat and reduce the poaching liquid until it becomes a delectable sauce; you’ll know it’s ready once you have trouble stopping “tasting.”

3. Candy the pistachios. While the pears are poaching, make up a batch of spicy-sweet nuts following the recipe here. Or, better yet, make the nuts days in advance and store them in the refrigerator to ensure they stay crunchy.

4. Whip the goat cheese cream. You need just four ingredients for this dreamy dessert topping, which takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. Follow the recipe here. (The lime zest is just for show since I’m using it in the dessert itself.) And do make sure the topping is at room temperature when serving, not cold, to maximize the taste and texture.

5. Plate the dish. Place a few pears into a dessert bowl and spoon a tablespoon or so of the reduced poaching liquid onto the pears. (Don’t forget to strain the solid spices from the mixture; no need to ruin a perfectly lovely holiday gathering with having to perform the Heimlich.) Slice a few blackberries onto the pears, then dollop the cream atop the mixture. Finish with a zest of lime and a few candied pistachios.