POACHED PEARS
1 In a large saucepan bring the wine, water,sugar, orange peel, cinnamon stick, star anise, vanilla pods, cardamom pods, cloves and peepercorns to the boil.
2 While this is coming up to temperature, peel and core the pears, leaving the stems on. Slice a little off the bottom of each pear so they sit flat.
3 Place the pears in the mulled wine, reduce the heat and simmer gently for around 1/2 an hour or until pears are tender.
4 Once pears are tender remove from heat, cover and cool.
5 Leave pears in mulled wine for a couple of hours or overnight depending on how intense you want them to be.
6 To serve warm gently bring the pears and the mulled wine to the boil, remove pears and set aside to be sliced and filled with mascarpone mixture.
|