On Season 10 of Lidia’s Kitchen, Lidia prepares Red Wine Poached Pears (Pere in Camicia al Vino Rosso.)
These are delicious on their own, but a crisp cookie is a lovely accompaniment. If you have any pears left over, you can refrigerate them in their syrup. Slice them and use as a crêpe filling or as a topping for a plain cake. These pears will keep (and only get better and deeper in color!) in the refrigerator in their syrup for up to a week.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 medium-sized ripe Bosc pears
- 1 orange
- 3 cups red wine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- 2 whole cloves
TO PREPARE
STEP ONE. Peel the pears; then halve and core them. Put the pear halves in a large saucepan.
STEP TWO. Remove the peel from the orange, and add it to the pot. Juice the orange into the pot. Add the red wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, allspice, cloves, and enough water to cover the pears, 2 to 3 cups.
STEP THREE. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Simmer very gently until the pears are tender all the way through, about 15 minutes. Let them cool in the syrup for about 30 minutes; then remove them to a serving dish.
STEP FOUR. Simmer the remaining liquid to reduce it to about 2 cups syrup, about 15 minutes.
STEP FIVE. Strain the syrup over the pears, and let cool slightly. Serve the pears drizzled with the warm syrup.
