Valentine’s Day is coming up so I feel obliged to give you a pink offering! I found a poached pear recipe on the back of a Cawston’s Press Apple and Ginger Juice carton so I tweaked it a little with some red wine to make it pink and added a cinnamon stick which gives it a mulled wine flavour; scrummy at any time of the year in my opinion. If you or your loved one is not a mulled wine fan, just leave it out! Poached pears are super easy, taking just 10 minutes to cook. I didn’t bother to core them as they are then difficult to stand up but you could if you wished. So here it is; an easy, tasty and fairly healthy pud for you and your loved one. Enjoy!
Valentine’s Poached Pears
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 x ripe Conference pears
200ml apple and ginger juice (I used Cawston’s Press)
100ml red wine
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp vanilla extract
To serve; A few glace or cocktail cherries, 2 basil leaves, cream or Greek yogurt
Method
Thinly peel the pears and cut a small slice off the bottom so they stand up securely.
In a small saucepan mix the juice, wine, cinnamon stick and vanilla extract. Add the pears and bring slowly to the boil then reduce the heat and poach gently for 10 minutes, turning the pears carefully after 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the poaching liquid. I turned them again during this time to ensure they were evenly pink(ish).
Meanwhile, prepare the garnish if using. I thought it would be fun to make some little cherry hearts, as I had some cocktail cherries left from Christmas. I drained a few and cut them in half. If you flatten them a bit you can then carve a heart with a sharp knife which I managed with varying degrees of success.
To serve; stand the pears in small dishes with a little of the poaching liquid. Add a few cherry hearts (I also stuck a heart to the pear), add a basil leaf to represent a pear leaf and serve with cream or Greek yogurt.
With love from me for Valentine’s Day.
Melody x
For more Valentine’s healthy heart recipes try this heart warming soup