Poached Pears are the most requested dessert that people ask me to cook. They can be
prepared in advance making it a great dish to serve large groups of people.
Blackberry Sorbet (see pear sorbet recipe for instructions) or
A good quality shop bought sorbet eg. lemon and strawberry
Method
Poaching Syrup: Place the red wine, caster sugar, cinnamon stick,
chilies, star anise, ginger and cardamom pods in a saucepan and bring it to the
boil. Leave it to simmer for 15 minutes so that the flavours are infused.
Pears: Place the pears in the simmering liquid and reduce the
temperature to just a simmer and leave them to cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove the
saucepan from the heat and leave it to cool. Store the pears in a sealed container
with a little of the cooking liquid in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Blackberries: Take 350ml of the pear poaching syrup and place it in
a saucepan over a high heat. Bring the syrup to the boil then remove it from the
heat. Place the blackberries in the syrup and allow them to cool in it. Place the
blackberries with the syrup in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator
until ready to serve.
To Serve: Carefully slice the pears in half and decore them with a
small knife or large melon baller. Place 2 halves in eahc serving bowl. Pour the
blackberries with the syrup around the pears. Place a scoop of pear or lemon sorbet
in the centre of one half of each pear where you have removed the core (a melon
baller can be used as a scoop). Place a scoop of blackberry sorbet or red sorbet of
your choice in the centre of the other half pear. Serve at once.