Burgundy-poached pears

Ingredients

• 8 Bartlett or Comice pears, ripe, yet firm (see note)
• 1 bottle red Burgundy wine, approximately (see note)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla bean
• Zest of one lemon
• Mint leaves, for decoration

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

    283 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 42 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 2 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Eight servings

Preparation

1. Carefully peel the pears, leaving the stems intact.
2. In a deep saucepan, bring the wine to a boil with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean and lemon zest. Reduce the heat so that the mixture is simmering slowly and add the pears. Poach them until they are tender, about 25-35 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let the pears remain in the liquid until serving time. To serve, decorate the top of each pear with a mint leaf and serve with a spoonful of the poaching wine.

• The pears must be covered during the poaching with liquid. If one bottle will not suffice, the liquid may be diluted with water, or you may use additional wine. White wine works equally well, but the pears will remain uncolored. When fully ripe pears are difficult to find, this recipe may also be made with slightly underripe pears, in which case, cooking time should be increased to at least an hour, and additional wine should be used to keep them covered.

40 minutes