This is my twist on the classic french dessert. Me, a big lover of poached pears, pistachios, gourmet desserts and laziness gave birth to this recipe. It hardly takes any time and it so beautiful to serve. I used white wine to poach the pears, spiced with cinnamon and cardamon, which adds an intense flavor to the pears. While the pistachio stuffing is nothing but honey and chopped pistachio and yet, it enhances the overall taste of the poached pears. A friendly warning, be prepared a warm and fragment smelling kitchen :). Scroll down for the written recipe.
Somethings to note:
Choice of white wine is up-to what is available of course but i recommend a sweeter wine rather than a dry white wine (for eg: Sauternes or Moscato). You can also replace wine with additional water if your prefer, but then I suggest an extra squeeze of lemon.
I chop the pears through the stalk so that both the pieces have a part of the stalk, it just looks good
The leftover juices have to simmer for at-least 20mins (or longer) to attain the syrupy consistency. Keep an eye while simmering and stir occasionally as it can burn easily due to the sugar and wine.
Pistachio Stuffed Poached Pears
Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 15mins (+20mins) Total Time: 45mins Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Poached Pears:
Two Pears
250ml Water
150ml White Wine
6-7 Cardamon Pods
1/3 Cup or 6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3 inch Long Cinnamon Stick
1 Lemon or 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
Pistachio Stuffing:
100g Pistachios
3 Tablespoons Honey
Directions:
Peel the pears leaving the stalk intact. Chop them in halves through the stalk.
In a heavy bottom pan, pour wine, water, cinnamon, cardamon, sugar and lemon juice. Place the pear halves into the pan. Cook on medium heat for 15mins.
Remove the pears from the pan and continue simmering the juices for another 20mins until it thicken into a syrup.
Strain the syrup and let the pears and syrup cool down
For the stuffing, chop the pistachios as fine as possible. Transfer them to a bowl, while leaving behind a teaspoon of the fine pistachio powder for the syrup.
Add the honey and mix it well, so that they stick together to form a thick stuffing
Serve/Plating:
Add the saved finely chopped pistachios to thickened syrup.
Carve out the center of the pear, removing seeds and making a semi circle in the centre of the halved pear. Stuff it with honeyed pistachios.
To serve, on a plate, pour the syrup first and place the pistachio stuffed poached pear on the top.
I added few drops of cream to the syrup but (optional).
* A tip, if the pears do not sit straight, slice a tiny bit of the rounded bottom and then place it on the plate.
Thank you visiting this page and reading the recipe. I hope you like it and will try to make it at home. Tag us on instagram @frompistachiowithlove if you to make this recipe.
Enjoy From Pistachio With Love!