SERVES:
6 - 7
INGREDIENTS:
6 - 7 pears, slightly under ripe
one wine size bottle of Mead (or red wine)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6 thin slices fresh ginger
orange peel from one orange
vanilla yogurt as needed for serving
raw honey for serving
cinnamon sugar for garnish
PROCEDURE:
Add one wine sized bottle of Mead to a deep, stainless steel pot, add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 thin slices of fresh ginger and use a peeler to peel the skin from one orange into that.
Use the same peeler to peel 6 - 7 pears somewhat under ripe pears, adding those to the Mead as you go. (It's important that the pears are a little under ripe so they don't over cook as they're poaching and so they're a little bit easier to peel).
Set the pot with the peeled pears on the stove top, bring it up to a simmer and then adjust the heat so the pears are very gently simmering along with a lid on top.
Since the pears are under ripe, they'll take about 30 - 40 minutes to poach and you'll want to use a pair of tongs to gently rotate them occasionally.
You'll be able to easily insert a knife into the pears once they're cooked through, turn the heat off and let them cool down in the liquid and then keep them cold in the fridge in the liquid.
Serve them with a bit of vanilla yogurt, some raw honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
HINTS:
Use red wine instead of Mead for a nice blush color.
The stainless steel pot needs to be deep but not too wide...just wide enough to hold 6 - 7 pears, so that the Mead will mostly cover the pears. If you need a little more liquid, add water.
Use a paring knife to very carefully cut a cone shape (wider at the bottom) into the bottom of each poached, cooled pear to remove the inner seed core before serving.
You can use the knife to cut a thin slice off of the bottom of the pear for a flat bottom.