Pears in Red wine

Ingredients

• 1 bottle red wine
• 150 g sugar
• 4 cloves
• 2 black peppercorns
• 1 vanilla pod (I just put in about 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 orange rind, strip (no pith)
• 6 large pears, not quite ripe
• 3 tablespoons creme de cassis (a blackcurrant liqueuer which I like to include. Maybe you could buy a miniature bottle)
• 2 pieces crystallized ginger, cut, into, julienne, shreds
• heavy cream or creme fraiche

Directions

1. 1

   Empty the wine into a stainless steel saucepan with the sugar, cloves peppercorns, vanilla pod, cinnamon stick and orange peel.

2. 2

   Bring the contents to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

3. 3

   Remove the pan from the heat, and cover it while you attend to the pears.

4. 4

   Use a small knife to cut out the end of the core.

5. 5

   I like to remove as much of the core as I can to allow the syrup to penetrate inside.

6. 6

   Peel the pear carefully, leaving the stem intact.

7. 7

   Stand the pears in a snug fitting saucepan and pour the wine syrup over them to submerge.

8. 8

   Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.

9. 9

   Remove and stand them upright.

10. 10

    Add the creme de cassis to the pan and the ginger.

11. 11

    Simmer until reduced by about 1/3 and the mixture is syrupy.

12. 12

    Pour this syrup over the pears, and chill before serving with the cream or creme fraiche.