This is one of our all time favorite recipes and you can serve it hot or cold.
Poached  Pears in Red Wine(serves 4)Ingredients1 x 750ml bottle of soft, fruity red wine125g granulated sugar2 cloves1 stick of cinnamon1 strip of lemon zest1 vanilla pod, split (optional)4 hard, squat pearsCreme de cassis or lemon juice to taste
DirectionsHeat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Put the wine in a pan with the sugar, spices and zest and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.Meanwhile, peel the pears and cut out the core at the base, but leave the stalk intact. Find an ovenproof dish just wide enough to hold the pears in one layer and lay them in there.Pour the spiced wine over the top - it should just cover the fruit - and cover. Bake for about an hour, checking after 45 minutes; once the fruit is tender to the point of a knife, but still holds its shape, lift it out of the liquid and set aside.Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce by about half until syrupy, then taste and pour in the creme de cassis or add lemon juice to taste (if the latter, you may wish to add a little sugar too). Pour the sauce back on to the pears and serve warm or cool (I like them chilled) with creme fraiche, thick yoghurt or ice cream. ??Bon vendredi a tous??Leeann x

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