Another gift from the Food&Wine Fairy!
Like clockwork, a pristine edition of Food & Wine Magazine shows up miraculously on my doorstep every month 🤔.
And, like clockwork, I go through it, grab whatever recipes catch my imagination, and pass it on, sans the best recipes!
Ingredients (for 4)
1 (750ml) bottle Muscat or other sweet wine (>15% sugar content)
3 Tbsp Honey
4 Thyme Sprigs
1 fresh or dried Bay Leaf
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
Small pinch Saffron threads
Pinch of fine Sea Salt
2 Unripe to barely ripe pears (preferably Bosc)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 cups boiling water
Crème Fraîche or Fromage Blanc
Method
Combine wine, honey, thyme, bay, fennel seeds, saffron and salt into a dutch oven or saucepan that will accommodate 4 pear halves lay flat. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.
Peel the pears, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and core with a small spoon, creating a perfect semi-sphere. Brush pear halves all over with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Add pear halves to the wine mixture in a single layer and add enough boiling water to cover them.
Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 30 minutes or so, turning pears two or three times.
Transfer pears to a plate and reduce poaching liquid by bringing to a light boil until you have about 3/4 cup syrupy sauce.
Strain syrup into a small bowl and discard solids (as you can see from the picture, I forgot this step 😱)
Spoon 2-3 Tbsp crème fraîche or fromage blanc into 4 shallow bowls or dessert plates. Nestle a pear upright on top (I cut off the bottom of the pear as mine wouldn't stand up by themselves)
Drizzle each pear with the syrup and serve warm or chilled