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Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle red wine, ideally not sweet
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tbsp. honey
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 2 inch piece of orange zest
  • 3 whole cloves, crushed
  • 3 whole black peppercorns, crushed
  • 4 firm to ripe pears
  • mint leaf to garnish, if desired

Mascarpone Filling

  • 8 oz. tub mascarpone
  • 3 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, combine wine, sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla bean, orange zest, cloves, and peppercorns. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Slice off the bottom of each pear just enough it stands upright on its own and just enough of the top to be used as a cap later.
  3. Use an apple corer to remove the core of the pear. Discard the core.
  4. Peel the pears removing all of the skin.
  5. Once poaching liquid is at a simmer, gently place the pears in the pot standing rightside up.
  6. Turn pears over every 10 minutes, until soft. (approximately 30 minutes if pears aren’t ripe and at least for 20 minutes if they are).
  7. Once pears are poached, remove from liquid and let cool completely. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
  8. Strain poaching liquid through a fine strainer to remove seasoning ingredients and set liquid aside to cool.
  9. Allow mascarpone to come to room temperature.
  10. Fill a piping bag, or ziplock bag, with the mascarpone mixture.
  11. Once pears and poaching liquid is cool and you are ready to serve the pears, use a ladel to pour enoughpoaching liquid in a shallow bowl to cover the bottom, about ¼”.
  12. Gently place a pear in the center of the liquid.
  13. Pipe the mascarpone filling into the center of the pear filling it just slightly above the tope of the pear.
  14. Place the cut top over the mascarpone and serve.