Poached Pears with Honeyed Mascarpone

Posted on Nov 10, 2011 by PeggyPrint Recipe Only | Email Recipe | Leave a Comment
Filed under: All Recipes, All Seasonal & Holiday Favorites, Fall, Feed Your Party, Gluten Free, Other desserts, Winter Pin It
Poached Pears with Honeyed Mascarpone

After a huge Thanksgiving Day feast, forget the pies — this is my preferred finish. The best thing about this dessert is it can be made eight to 24 hours in advance. In fact, it insists upon that time to soak up the winey marinade and give the pear that stunning rich garnet color.

With a melon baller, scoop our seeds to form a small circle, 3/4-inch deep.

You should not leave it in the marinade much longer than that, or the spices will be too intense.

This is a great recipe for using up some of those sweeter red wines you may not enjoy drinking. They may not be your cup of tea for quaffing, but they taste fine soaked into pears.

Cover with parchment, and gently poach.

If you wish, you can make an easy sauce with the poaching liquid. Reduce the poaching liquid, over high heat, in half. Combine 2 teaspoons of corn starch with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk this mixture into the reduced liquid. Return to a boil until the mixture has thickened. Pour over the pears.

I garnished my pears with raspberry sugar. Orange zest would be delicious as well. That makes me think of Grand Marnier — wouldn’t that be lovely whisked into the mascarpone instead of honey?

Recipe: Poached Pears with Honeyed Mascarpone

Ingredients

  • 2 firm-ripe Bosc pears
  • 2 cups fruity red wine
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 3 whole cloves
  • Parchment paper to cover pan
  • 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

  1. Peel the pears with a vegetable peeler or paring knife and cut them in half. Use a melon baller or spoon to dig out the core. Use a small paring knife to remove the fibrous part of the core that extends to the stem, leaving the stem intact.
  2. Combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and cloves in a heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low simmer while stirring to dissolve sugar.
  3. Add the pears to the saucepan. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a circle that will fit in the saucepan. Place the parchment round directly on the surface of the liquid and pears. This will keep the pears submerged in the liquid.
  4. Over low heat, poach the pears for 20 to 30 minutes or until a knife is easily inserted into a pear. Remove the pears from the heat and allow them to cool to room temperature in their liquid. Chill until cold, turning occasionally, at least 8 hours and up to 24.
  5. Before serving, combine mascarpone and honey. Spoon into pears and serve.

Active Time: 20 minutes

Poach/Marinate Time: 4-8 hours

Number of servings (yield): 4 servings

Copyright © Peggy Lampman’s dinnerFeed.

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Filed under: All Recipes, All Seasonal & Holiday Favorites, Fall, Feed Your Party, Gluten Free, Other desserts, Winter
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