OVEN-POACHED PEARS WITH RED WINE

Oven-Poached Pears With Red Wine image

Provided by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Categories dessert

Time 1h30m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as a California cabernet or an Italian Barolo
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
3 thick slices of lemon
8 firm Comice or russet (Bosc) pears

Steps:

Combine the wine, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and lemon slices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture is reduced to approximately 4 cups liquid. Set aside until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the pears but leave the stems on. Place the pears upright in a baking dish just large enough to hold them comfortably. Bring the wine mixture to a boil again and pour it over the pears (it will not cover them completely). Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes. The pears should darken to a rich mahogany color as they cook.
When the pears are done (still firm but easily pierced with a fork), remove them from the oven. The liquid in the baking dish should be syr-upy. If it is not, transfer it to a saucepan and cook on the stove over a high heat until there are approximately 2 cups of syrup.
Place the pears in compote or similar dishes and cover with syrup. The pears may be served with a ricotta cream sauce (see following recipe).

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 258, UnsaturatedFat 0 grams, Carbohydrate 57 grams, Fat 0 grams, Fiber 7 grams, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 0 grams, Sodium 8 milligrams, Sugar 44 grams, TransFat 0 grams