Pears Poached in Fruity Port
Serves 4

Graceful, garnet-colored and delicious, poached pears are my go-to dinner party dessert. Why? First, like apples, pears ripen in late summer and are then held for months in cold storage with their texture and nutrition intact. That means they are available practically year round. Second, the delicious port based poaching liquid  freezes perfectly so it can be used over and over again, and it tastes better each time. Third, pears can be served as halves, sliced, or standing up whole, accompanied by sauce or not. And if you are in the mood, they can be cored and filled with surprises like mascarpone and candied ginger or blue cheese, dark chocolate buttercream or other wonderfully flavored fillings.

The best part of this elegant and easy dessert is that pears get stuffed instead of the diners.

Hints

1. Pears used for poaching need to be perfectly ripe and firm. Poaching softens them slightly so if they are too ripe they will be mushy and collapse, and if they are green and too firm, they will remain hard and have almost no flavor. How do you tell if a firm pear is ripe? Gently pinch the top at the base of the stem. If it gives easily the pear will be ready within 24 hours. Take it home, store it in a closed plastic bag in a dark closet and use it the next day.


For poaching, pears don't have to be perfect on the outside.

2. Select pears with 1” stems. Stemless poached pears look dopey, as though they forgot their hats.
3. If I have the time, I poach the pears a day ahead of the dinner party so I have time the next day to make the filling, the syrup or sauce etc.

Fruity Port Poaching Liquid

Ingredients

1 quart pear juice
1 bottle port
zest from 1 orange
3-4 drops red food coloring
Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, covered for 5 minutes.

Poached Pears

Ingredients

4 ripe pears
2 quarts poaching liquid

Procedure

1. With less pressure than you would use peeling firmer fruits like apples, peel pears one at a time, making sure you remove all of the skin up to the stem. Cut the bases level so that the pears can stand on their own.
2. Place each pear into the poaching liquid as it is peeled and cut or they will oxidize and turn brown. When all the pears are in the pot, the liquid should come up to the stems, but if it doesn’t don’t worry about it.


The poaching pot needs to be wide enough that the pears don't touch while they cook.

3. Bring heat to steady simmer and poach the pears, turning if necessary to keep the pears’ color even, until they are easily pierced with a sharp knife.
4. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pears from the pot and place standing up on a plate.
5. Transfer 2 cups of the poaching liquid to a small pot and put the rest aside to cool. When it is at room temperature transfer it to a plastic container and freeze it for future use.

Pear Port Syrup

Put 2 ½ cups poaching liquid in a small saucepan. Add ¾ cup granulated sugar and cook, stirring regularly over medium heat until it reduces by half. If it is not a thick syrup consistency, mix 1 tsp. cornstarch with water and add to the syrup. Cook at low boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly until it thickens to a syrup consistency. Transfer to a glass container, cover and refrigerate 20 minutes before using.

Mascarpone Ginger Filling

¾ cup mascarpone and 3 tbs. minced candied ginger blended until soft.

Mascarpone Blue Cheese Filling

Substitute good crumbled blue cheese to taste for ginger

Dark Chocolate Buttercream Filling

Ingredients

2 tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tiny pinch salt
1 tbs. dark chocolate bits (not chips) or ½ oz. bittersweet chocolate broken into bits
2 tbs. heavy cream
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. brandy

Procedure

Thoroughly blend butter, sugar and salt. Set aside. Heat cream in a small glass bowl in the microwave until it begins to bubble (25 seconds or less) watching carefully so it won’t scald. Add chocolate bits and stir until the chocolate melts. Cool to room temp. Stir in vanilla and brandy and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until it just sets but does not harden.

Stuffing Poached Pears

1. Holding a pear gently by its stem, lay it in one hand. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut a 2” circle around the stem butt at the base of the pear, slanting the knife point toward the center of the pear so that what is removed will be cone shaped.
   

   After cutting a 2 inch circle around the base of the stem, slant the knife point towards the stem. cutting about 3/4 up the stem

   Don’t attempt to cut through the core with the knife. When the circle is complete, use narrow pointed scissors to cut out about ¾ up the stem from the bottom up.

   

   Using sharp, narrow pointed scissors cut out a cone shaped area around the core.

   Remove and discard (or eat) the cone shaped piece of pear and core.

   

   Leave enough core to support the stem.

   Set it back onto the plate and repeat with remaining pears.

2. Using a very small rubber spatula or a teaspoon, fill each pear cavity with the mascarpone ginger blend.
   

   The pear is stuffed with mascarpone and crystallized ginger.

   Transfer each filled pear to a fresh plate, cover with plastic and refrigerate until about 45 minutes before serving. For Chocolate Buttercream, before stuffing each pear, gently dab the inside with paper towel to remove extra liquid. The Buttercream will harden slightly when the pears are refrigerated.

To Serve

With Syrup
Divide the poached pears among 4 dessert plates. Spoon Pear Port Syrup over each pear until the syrup coats the peas and covers the indented portion of the plate. If you have or can get unblemished bright green mint leaves with stems, they make a great garnish. For each pear, poke the mint leaf stem into the pear flesh next to its stem.

One More Thing
This time the pear was served in a pool of Creme Fraiche with pear syrup drizzled through it.