Poached Pears with Ginger

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Photo: Richard Gerhard Jung
Servings:
4

Intensely flavorful ginger imparts piquancy to poached pears.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry white wine

  • 2 tablespoons port or full-bodied red wine

  • 3 cups water

  • ¼ cup honey

  • 1 piece fresh ginger (¾ inch), peeled and cut crosswise into 6 slices

  • 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and scraped

  • 4 ripe, firm Bartlett or Comice pears

Directions

  1. Bring all ingredients except pears to a simmer over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes.

  2. Meanwhile, peel pears and cut in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out core and seeds from each half, leaving stems intact. Trim fibrous strip from center with a paring knife. Gently lower pears into pot. If not completely covered by liquid, lay a piece of parchment paper directly on pears.

  3. Cook until a paring knife slides easily into pears, meeting slight resistance, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool in liquid 30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a large bowl; cover with parchment paper. Cook liquid over medium heat until syrupy, about 15 minutes; discard vanilla pod and ginger. Let cool. Serve two pear halves in each bowl; spoon syrup over pears.

Cook's Notes

These pears may be refrigerated in their cooking liquid overnight.

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