Marsala Poached Pears
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Don't you just love it when you put something together on a whim, and it works out the first time? My friend Garrett had a few extra pears from a baking adventure which I decided to poach in Marsala wine, with some sugar, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. Star anise has a strong licorice flavor, so I was a little worried my poached pears would end up tasting like Good-n-Plenty. Fortunately, the other spices rose to the occasion and along with the Marsala infused the pears with a happy, spicy, delicious aroma.
Marsala Poached Pears
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Firm, just ripe pears should be used. If overly ripe, the pears will cook up mushy. If Bosc pears are not available, Bartlett or Anjou can be substituted. You can core the pears if you wish, from the bottom, but it really is not necessary.
Ingredients
- 4 bosc pears, peeled, stem still attached, 1/4-inch of bottom sliced off so pears can easily sit upright
- 1 cup dry Marsala wine (or Madeira)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 1/2 stick cinnamon
Method
1 In a saucepan just large enough to fit all of the pears, place the Marsala wine, sugar, lemon juice, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and place the pears in the pan, standing upright. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes (if you want, baste with the liquid a couple of times during the cooking), until the pears can easily be pierced with a fork. Very firm pears make need to cook for up to 20 minutes.
2 Remove the pears to a serving dish. Keeping the pan uncovered, let the Marsala syrup boil down for a few minutes until it is a thick syrup. (If it begins to caramelize, remove pan from the heat and add a little water to the pan to stop the cooking.) Pour syrup over pears and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
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It must be really nice to have friends that are as interested in food and cooking as you are. Sometimes I feel like my husband and I are the only ones out there standing on chairs taking pictures of food while our dinner gets cold. :)
Hah! My friends and family are very patient. I've been known to take food off the table because it tastes so good I have to get a picture of it. Also helps to have friends who are food bloggers. They totally get it. ~Elise