Red Wine Poached Pears With Mascarpone Filling Recipes

Steps:

• Place the wine, peppercorns, vanilla beans, zest, cardamom and sugar in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the saucepan to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Place the pears in the saucepan and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until the pears are tender.
• Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set aside on a plate. Allow them to cool completely.
• While the pears are cooling, strain the poaching liquid and discard solids. Return the liquid to the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and reduce the poaching liquid to a syrup, about 5 to 10 minutes. You should have about 1/2 cup syrup. Set aside.
• When the pears are cool enough to handle, remove the inner core using a melon baller. Stuff each pear with 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone.
• To serve, pour about 2 tablespoons of the poaching syrup on a chilled appetizer plate with a pear in the center. Sprinkle toasted pistachios around the plate and garnish with mint leaves and orange zest. Drizzle with creme anglaise, if desired.

Steps:

• Cut bottom off each pear and core from the bottom to give each pear a flat bottom to stand upright.
• Combine wine, water, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and star anise in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and arrange pears on their sides in the saucepan. Simmer pears for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn pears and continue simmering until tender and easily poked with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Work in batches if needed.
• Remove pears from wine mixture and place in a serving dish, standing upright. Continue boiling wine sauce until reduced to about 3/4 cup, 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Fill each pear's core cavity with chocolate sauce. Pour wine sauce over each pear.

Steps:

• Juice the lemon and orange, reserving the juiced citrus halves. Put the juice, citrus halves, wine, water, honey, ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, star anise and bay leaf in a wide saucepot. Gently place the pears into the liquid. Make a circle of parchment paper that is 1/2-inch larger than the pot and cover surface completely with the parchment paper (see Cook's Note*). Make sure the pears are fully submerged but not touching the bottom of the pot. Bring the poaching liquid and pears to a boil, then reduce the heat to just below a simmer.
• Cook the pears until fork tender. Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife in the base; there should be little resistance when fully cooked. Gently transfer pears to a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour enough poaching liquid over pears just to cover. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight; the longer the pears soak, the darker they will become.
• Strain remaining poaching liquid and return to saucepan. Cook over high heat until a syrupy consistency is achieved or the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Chill until the pears are served.
• Use a parisienne scoop to remove each pear's core, hollowing out a 1-inch wide cavity that starts at the base and extends 3/4 of the way up the pear. Transfer the Creamy Pistachio Nut Filling to a piping bag without a tip. Gently fill the pear cavity until it slightly overflows. (The overflow will help to provide a sticky surface to stand the pear up on.) Place the pear, base side down, in a bowl and surround with 1-ounce of the syrup. Serve.
• In a medium-sized bowl, cream the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir in the pistachio nuts.
• Use immediately or refrigerate and return to room temperature before filling the pears.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine the port, wine, 1 cup of the sugar, star anise, cinnamon, thyme, lemon zest, the vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the pears and simmer until the pears are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool in the poaching liquid.
• Before serving, remove the pears from their poaching liquid and reduce the liquid to a syrup. Strain into a small bowl.
• Combine the mascarpone and remaining sugar in a small bowl. Dollop a small amount of the mascarpone on each plate and arrange a pear half on top to prevent it from sliding around the plate. Garnish the pears with a large dollop of the mascarpone, and drizzle with the reduced poaching liquid. Shave the chocolate over the mascarpone and serve.
• Voila!

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

Steps:

• Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. Set aside. Combine 1 cup water, wine and honey in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add pears. Cover mixture with round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning when half-way through cooking, about 15 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to large bowl. Boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool syrup. Pour syrup over pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove vanilla bean.
• Whisk mascarpone cheese, sugar and brandy in large bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chilled poaching syrup and whisk until soft peaks form.
• Thinly slice each pear half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Using metal spatula, transfer pears to plates. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over pears. Spoon mascarpone cream alongside each pear half and serve.

Steps:

• Combine the wine, water, sugar and cinnamon in a deep nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.
• Add the pears and simmer 15 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Remove the pears from the liquid, draining them well, and place them in a bowl.
• Boil down the liquid until it is reduced to two cups and has become syrupy. Remove the cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid over the pears and refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
• To serve, place each pear standing up in a deep dish or goblet. Pour some of the cooking liquid over each.
• Stir the mascarpone to smooth it, then spoon a generous dollop on top of each pear. It will begin to drip down the sides of the pear. Dust with sifted cocoa and serve.

Steps:

• Peel pears and leave stem intact. In a large pan, bring wine and an equal amount of cold water to a simmer. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and add to wine & water. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and sugar, to taste. Add pears to liquid and simmer for about 20 min or until tender. Cool pears in wine mixture to room temperature. Refrigerate in poaching liquid (overnight).
• Remove pears from poaching liquid. Remove stems from pears and set stems aside. Core pears with apple corer, leaving pear whole.
• Whisk together mascarpone cheese, whip cream, pinch cinnamon and icing sugar until smooth. Transfer to piping bag. Pipe into cored pears and finish by putting stems into filling at top of pear. Refrigerate.
• Bring sauce to simmer and reduce by half. Add butter to reduced sauce and stir until combined. Spoon generously over pears. Cool to room temperature before serving.