Poached Bosc Pears in Red wine

Back in the olden days, Romans cultivated pears and only eat them cooked. They would stew them with honey. Then slowly people moved to enjoy pears stewed in wine and spices. But presently we enjoy pears in many ways: fresh, canned, juiced and dried. 


Hmm.. I think pears is an under-rated fruit. Why? Perhaps it does not have a distinct taste and not delicious when unripe (which is most of the cases when bought from the supermarket). I enjoy eating ripe and soft pears as they are extremely juicy and sweet. But it always seems so difficult to get pears to ripe. But do you know that the trick is to place pears in room temperature and put them next to bananas. I think there must be some chemical reaction between the two. 


The funny thing is that no one should associate your gal friends to a pear (even though you think she does look like one). Women hate to have pear-shaped body, small at the top and heavy at the bottom. 


This dessert which I am sharing requires pears which are hard and unripe as it has to be stewed in red wine for some time. Bosc pears are best for this as they are denser and firmer. So if you have ripe and soft pears, please just savor it fresh as it is.  

Recipe (Serves 3-4)
Ingredients

• 2 Bosc Pears (Halved and cored)
• Half a bottle of red wine 
• Half a lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup of Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 small Cinnamon stick
• Half a Star anise

Steps:

1. Prepare the pears. 
2. In a saucepan, lay the pears flat and add in wine. Ensure that the pears are submerged. 
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients. 
4. Bring the wine to boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. 
5. Cook the pears till tender. Use a toothpick to test. Takes about 30 minutes.
6. Remove pears and put aside. 
7. Boil the rest of the liquid and reduce to a thick glaze. 
8. To serve, drizzle the pears with glaze. Ice-cream is optional.