-
1
In a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan just large enough to hold the pears with about 2 inches of headspace to spare, combine the wine, water and sugar.
-
2
Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
-
3
Remove the syrup from the heat and add the vanilla bean, ginger slices and lemon juice.
-
4
Peel the pears, removing the skin as thinly as possible, leaving the stems intact.
-
5
Follow the gentle curves of the pears as you peel them so they retain their beautiful shape.
-
6
Add the pears all at once to the pot of syrup and press a small, clean dishcloth directly onto the surface of the mixture, soaking the cloth.
-
7
Place a circle of parchment paper onto the cloth; this will prevent the pears from poaching unevenly or drying out on one side.
-
8
(If you find the pears are still floating, you can place a little plate or saucer onto the cloth to weigh them down.
-
9
The trick is to keep the fruit under the syrup, without having it rest on the bottom of the pot!
-
10
Do your best; I have found one side plate that is the perfect size and weight-heavy enough to hold the fruit under, but not so heavy that the pears are squashed against the bottom.
-
11
Experiment!
-
12
Somewhere in your kitchen is the ideal dish!)
-
13
Return the pot to the element over medium-low heat and slowly bring the syrup to a bare simmer.
-
14
Watch closely: you dont want the mixture to boil too vigorously at any point, or the fruit will cook too quickly and begin to break down in the syrup.
-
15
Reduce the heat slightly and keep the syrup just below the simmer.
-
16
Tiny bubbles should dance up around the pears and just break the surface.
-
17
Too low is better than too high a heat; the pears may take a little longer to poach, but will remain intact and tender.
-
18
Poach the fruit until the tip of a very sharp knife slips in and out easily.
-
19
Let the pears cool in their syrup, then refrigerate until needed.
-
20
If the pears are extremely soft, carefully remove them from the syrup into a shallow container and refrigerate until cool.
-
21
Cool the syrup separately, then pour it over the pears and refrigerate together until needed.
-
22
(The pears can be poached up to 4 days ahead of time and refrigerated, submerged in their syrup.)
-
23
To serve, remove the fruit from the refrigerator about I hour before you plan to serve them.
-
24
Pare off a little slice from the bottom of each pear to create a flat plane for the fruit to stand on and place one in each of 6 shallow dessert bowls.
-
25
Spoon some of the syrup over top and accompany with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and a flavourful biscuit.
-
26
Creme anglaise also makes a lovely accompaniment.
