Poached Pears

By Mark Bittman and Sam Sifton

Poached Pears
Christaan Felber for The New York Times
Total Time
About 45 minutes
Rating
4(344)
Comments
Read comments

Back in 2012, Mark Bittman and Sam Sifton tackled the task of making up a bountiful meal for 15 at a friend’s Brooklyn home. “We wanted to impress our guests without driving ourselves crazy. We decided on sturdy and manageable main courses, but we wanted an eye-popping starter and dessert,” Mr. Sifton said. These poached pears in port, paired with an orange, almond and olive oil cake, rose to the occasion. Ready in about 45 minutes, and without a lot of fuss over the stove, it’s a great way to end a dinner party.

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Ingredients

  • 1bottle ruby or tawny port
  • ½cup sugar
  • 8Bosc pears
  • 2vanilla beans
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

325 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 47 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 8 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the port and sugar in a saucepan with 2 cups water; heat until the sugar dissolves. Add vanilla beans.

  2. Step 2

    Peel and core pears. Pour on port mixture and simmer 15 to 40 minutes, until tender.

  3. Step 3

    Let pears cool in the liquid.

  4. Step 4

    Reduce the liquid to less than a cup. Serve individually with the liquid spooned over.

Ratings

4 out of 5
344 user ratings
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Comments

vbm

Could you explain coring the pears? Since the photo shows them whole, do you hollow them out from the bottom?

Peter

Genuine port has a vanilla note because vanillin comes from the oak barrels it was stored in. You can make faux port by adding vanilla extract and sugar to a decent red wine -- by the time the pears have been poached and the wine reduced, you'd have to have a golden palate to tell the difference between real port and faux port.

ken

I simmer the pairs in just wine. Put vanilla and sugar in whipped cream. serve with a side of ginger chutney form the Indian market.

Dominic

Simple no stuff it up recipe.

Sharon de Cook

My pears and sauce turned out the most startling shade of burgundy, unlike the photo, but were pear-colored inside. Gorgeous. As commentator Peter recommended, we use a red zin that no one wanted to drink, along with vanilla extract, and made wonderful sauce. My only problem was how to plate and serve them. Although perfectly done, they slide around a lot, drenched in sauce and a little vanilla ice cream.

Brian

vanilla beans are so expensive! Going to try this with just a little vanilla extract

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