Ingredients
- 2 large oranges, navel or cara cara oranges preferred for sweetness
- 6 ripe but firm small pears
- 2 cup sred wine such as Pinot Noir
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoon sraw sugar, or granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Zest and juice one of the oranges and pour the juice in a medium bowl. Slice the remaining orange into ¼ inch rounds.
- With a vegetable peeler, peel the pears, leaving them whole. Add the pears to the bowl with the orange juice and toss to coat (this will help prevent the pear from turning brown too quickly).
- Prepare a non reactive pot that can fit all the pears snuggly (I used an enameled pot). Add the orange slices, red wine, honey, sugar, cinnamon stick, and cardamom.
- Over medium high heat, bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then lower the heat and add in the pears and orange juice (set the bowl aside). Cover and let simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, occasionally rotating them using a wooden spoon, until the pears have softened enough and a skewer inserted in the middle of a pear at the thickest part meets no resistance.
- Transfer the pears back to the bowl for now. Simmer the remaining liquid for a few minutes or until thickened.
- Allow the pears to sit upright in the poaching liquid until they have cooled enough to serve.
- Serve poached pears warm or cold with a little bit of the syrup drizzled on top, and some orange zest for garnish. You can also refrigerate them in the poaching liquid overnight to serve at a later time.
