>> Recipe - Spiced red wine pears with chocolate sauce and mascarpone

I have a very fond memory of one winter a couple of years ago... When I was a student, I spent a lot of time with Johan and his family at their home, since it could get quite lonely in my little 3 by 3. Johan's mom always made the best food, and one night I walked into her kitchen, the whole house smelling like heaven...she was making red wine spiced poached pears, and since that night I've never had a desert that I loved more.

So last weekend, right out of the blue, I decided that I must try making poached pears myself. I got the same feeling as that night when our house started to float with the smells of star anise, cinnamon and berries. It smells beautiful...

I whipped up some quick chocolate sauce and served the pears with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and some of the red wine syrup.
It was melt in our mouths, could not get enough delightfulness! And yes, this is the picture I took myself before serving it, not a stock image. I try my hand at some food styling every now and then:-) Yum.

 

Ingredients

500ml dry red wine

70 g caster sugar

2 whole star anise 

2 x 7cm cinnamon sticks

3 black pepper corns

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

1 vanilla bean, split

4 just ripe pears, peeled

For the chocolate sauce

1 slab of milk chocolate

20 ml milk

When the pears are ready, melt the chocolate over boiling water and add the milk. Stir until it turns into a smooth sauce.

Method 

Combine the wine, sugar, star anise, cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, bay leave and cloves in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, turning occasionally, for 1 hour or until pears are tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a heatproof bowl.

Increase heat to high and bring the syrup to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Pour over the pears and set aside. I like to serve the pears warm, but they can also be covered and cooled in the fridge for about 4 hours.

Make the chocolate sauce and smear some on a pretty serving plate. Place a pear on top of the sauce and drizzle with syrup. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone.