When cooking with the seasons in mind, winter months can feel long and dull. February is a great month to focus on storage crops, including orchard fruits and root vegetables. This pear recipe makes use of the whole fruit and adds a pop of romantic color in an otherwise gray month.
Poached pears are an easy yet impressive dessert. Whole pears are simmered in flavorful liquid, and the pear skins are used to make a rich and velvety pink pear mousse. This is a sweet dessert to be sure, but it’s kept in check with a complexity of spices and the unsweetened pear mousse.
Wine-poached pears
Ingredients
- 6 firm pears (I used red, which I like for the color of the mousse, but any variety will work here)
- 1 bottle off-dry to sweet white wine (see note)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6-8 whole peppercorns
- 1 cup sugar
1. Thoroughly wash your pears, then peel. Reserve the skins. Leave the core and stem intact.
2. Choose a pot large enough to fit six pears with at least a few inches of room above. Add the wine, vanilla, spices and sugar to the pot and bring to a soft boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Add your peeled pears, put the lid on and turn heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer for about half an hour, or until pears are tender. Flip the pears halfway while simmering. To test for doneness, use a thin paring knife and insert the knife to the pear’s core. The fruit should cut easily but stay intact.
5. Remove the lid and turn off the heat. Leave the pears to cool slightly in the poaching liquid, about 15 minutes but up to overnight (see note). This allows the flavors to infuse more fully.
6. Remove the pears to a serving platter or bowl with a slotted spoon, keeping the liquid in the pot. Turn the heat to a simmer and let the wine sauce reduce by about half, stirring occasionally, so that it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
7. Taste the sauce and adjust as needed. Add a teaspoon of sugar at a time until reaching your desired sweetness, or add a dash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for more acidity.
8. Pour the warm wine sauce over the pears and spoon the pear mousse around the platter. Serve.
Pink pear mousse
This is the easiest mousse you’ll ever make. Mousse is usually made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream or both; this uses just whipping cream and the reserved pear peels, and is made all in one container.
Ingredients
- Peels from 6 pears, about 1/2–2/3 cup
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1. Add the pear skins to a tall, wide-mouthed container, like a large mason jar. Using an immersion blender, blend skins until fully pureed and silky-smooth. No need to add any liquid; the pear skins should have enough liquid on their own.
2. Once the pear skins are fully pureed, add the 2/3 cup whipping cream. Use your immersion blender to whip the cream until thickened and airy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use a blender to puree the pears then add the cream and blend in 10-second bursts until whipped, or use a hand mixer to whip the cream to medium peaks and fold in the pear puree.)
Notes
I tested this with both an off-dry Riesling and a sparkling dessert Moscato, and both were fabulous. No need to spend a ton of money here, but do choose a wine you would be happy to sip on. I went with Kiona Riesling from Washington that retails at $11.99, and an Italian Moscato that retails at $17.99. If you’re not sure how sweet a bottle is, ask the sales clerk.
This is a great make-ahead dessert. Follow the directions for the pears through step 5, then refrigerate after it cools. I even leave the pears in the pot and put the whole pot in the fridge for easy cleanup. When ready, proceed with the instructions as written.
If you have wine sauce left over, use in French 75s, pour over French toast or serve over ice cream. Leftover pink pear mousse can be served with sliced fruit or topped with granola.
Variations: Peppercorns impart an earthy, complex flavor in this recipe, but if you don’t have them on hand, feel free to leave them out. You can also swap the spices in the poaching liquid to your own vision. Star anise, cloves or cinnamon sticks would be wonderful; you could also play around with whole bay leaf, rose hips or saffron. Taste the sauce after you remove the pears and either discard the whole spices or bay leaf before reducing, or leave in to intensify the flavors.
Hannah Green's Root-to-Leaf column appears monthly.
