RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Karen Selwyn Pears in Red Wine: Pere al Vino - pareve
This is my best pareve dessert. Gloria Green calls this by its French name, Poires Bourguinonne, and suggests it for a Passover dessert. Her recipe calls for sweet Passover wine. My recipe calls for dry red wine, but dry kosher-for-Passover wine is available. My recipe also includes orange liqueur, so people will have to omit/substitute this ingredient if served at Passover. Pears Al Vino (Italian Pears Poached in Red Wine) 8 pears 3 cups dry red Bordeaux-type wine 1 (3 inch) stick of cinnamon 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 whole cloves 1 (2 inch) piece lemon peel 1/2 cup currant jelly 1/4 cup orange liqueur (or more to taste) lemon juice for flavor adjustment juice of 1 lemon for acidulated water Fill a very large bowl with water to which the juice of 1 lemon has been added. Set aside. Peel and halve pears. Using the small scoop of a melon baller, scoop out seeds. Place pears in the bowl of water mixture as they are prepared. Leave them in the water until they are added to the saucepan. In a large saucepan, combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon peel. Bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, add the pears. Cook over low heat, partially covered until the pears are tender. When the pears are done, remove them from a saucepan and place in a 3 or 4 quart pyrex baking dish. Raise the heat under the saucepan and simmer vigorously until the cooking liquid is reduced by 1/3 and it lightly coats a spoon. Add the currant jelly to the hot sauce and beat until fully dissolved. Taste the syrup; it should have some tartness. If desired, add some lemon juice. Add the orange liqueur. Pour the hot sauce over the pears. Allow the dessert to cool and chill in the refrigerator. Remove the dessert from the refrigerator a little bit before serving to let it begin to approach room temperature.
