I love this pretty little dessert! It’s beautiful and elegant, and very light.
Plus way simpler than you’d think.
You really just have to throw some things in a pot to simmer and peel some pears. Yes, it’s that easy.
I’m using Giada DeLaurentiis’s recipe from her lovely cookbook Giada at Home. Except she also includes large quantities of simple syrup in her poaching mixture. Trust me, you don’t need that. A sweet dessert wine and a perfectly ripe piece of fruit makes for a light and wonderful dessert, but one with no guilt.
adapted from Giada at Home
serves 4
4 pears
1 bottle Moscato (any sweet sparkling wine will work)
1 vanilla bean
2 cinnamon sticks
Peel the pears. You can core them too, but it is a little bit of a pain to core them while still leaving the stems on. And by a little bit of a pain, I mean I have absolutely no idea how to do that. I tried. I failed. I moved on. If you can figure it out, go ahead! But you want to leave the stem for a cute little handle.
Put the Moscato, vanilla bean (scrape the seeds out and put them in the wine, but add the whole bean too) and cinnamon sticks in a large sauce pan and bring to a light simmer. Add the pears and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
Set the pears aside, but keep the liquid simmering until it reduces into a syrup, about another 20 minutes. I warn you, the smell of cinnamon and sweet wine wafting through the kitchen is amazing. I’m definitely turning this into a fall drink – watch for that.
Serve plain with a drizzle of the reduced wine on top, or perhaps with a scoop of soy ice cream. I found that they go wonderfully with a new favorite store-bought ice cream – Double Rainbow’s Soy Cinnamon Caramel. Goes so well with the cinnamon-y pears!
Nutrition facts per serving (if you serve all the reduced wine with the pears): Calories: 180; Calories from Fat: 1; Total Fat: 0.2g; Sodium: 26mg; Total Carbohydrates: 41.5g; Dietary Fiber: 4.3g; Sugars: 30.6g; Protein: 0.5g
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