Poached Pears in Red Wine

This recipe for Poached Pears in Red Wine is perfect for last minute dinner parties because its easy to make and can be quickly made onsite. It features red wine enhanced with orange juice, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon. The pears are then simmered in the mixture causing the sugars in the pears to caramelize and generate a multitude of wonderful flavor compounds that generally translates to "mmmmm". Oh and they taste awesome dolloped with vegan whipped cream or soy yogurt too.

Poached Pears in Red Wine Recipe

2 cups dry red wine
½ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
zest of one lemon
½ teaspoon cinnamon

6 Medium size Bosc pears

½ cup non-dairy whipped cream or yogurt

1) Whisk together the flavor building ingredients

In a large pot, combine the red wine, orange juice, sugar, water, lemon zest and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. 

2) Prepare the pears and simmer to perfection

Remove the stems from the pears, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Place in the large pot face down and simmer for about 15 minutes. The time will vary depending on how firm the pears are. Remove pears from the pot and place in a glass baking dish or serving dishes. 

3) Reduce the cooking liquid into a syrup

Boil the cooking liquid until reduced to about ¾ cup. This should take about 10 minutes. Pour the liquid over the pears and serve with non-dairy whipped cream or yogurt. This recipe makes 6 servings of Poached Pears in Red Wine.