Vanilla Poached Pears
Poached pears were a feature of so many family lunches, served with both raspberry and chocolate sauce. I have no doubt Mum followed no recipe whatsoever, but here are some guidelines for the rest of us to follow. She would never have made this for just six people, so for the sake of authenticity make at least triple quantities and invite over all your friends. Go heavy on the vanilla and choose good firm fruit to start.
ingredients
6 firm pears
rind and juice of 1 lemon
5 tbsp golden granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 large glass of sweet white wine
1 1/4 cups of water
method
Peel the pears and cut them in half lengthways. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over the lemon juice, turning them over and around with your hands. In a roomy stainless-steel or enamelled pan mix together the lemon rind, sugar, vanilla pod, wine, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes. Slip in the pears and poach for around 15-10 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a knife; they should also look a little transparent. Put a lid on and leave to cool to lukewarm, by which time the pears will be fully cooked. Serve like Mum (cold or warm) with chocolate sauce, raspberry coulis and ice cream.
