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| Poached Pears with Walnuts, Apricots and Currants |
Ingredients:
      Poached Pears
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 1 + 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cinnamon sticks (canela)
- 1 teaspoon cloves placed in a tea diffuser
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 6 whole Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and hollowed
- Parchment paper
     Stuffing
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dry currants
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
     Garnish:
- Vanilla ice-cream (optional)
- Sprigs of fresh mint
Directions:
Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add nuts and cook, stirring, until nuts are lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes. Add chopped apricots and currants. Cook, stirring, for 1 more minute. Add brown sugar and cook mixture, stirring constantly, 1 more minute. Remove from heat, let it cool.Â
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| Chopped walnuts and apricots with currants |
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| Stuffing made with roasted walnuts, apricots and currants |
Wash pears. Cut a thin slice at the bottom of each pear so that it could stand on its bottom. Using a mellon baller core the pears removing seeds.Â
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| Pears |
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| Bottoms cut to provide a flat surface |
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| Hollowed pears with seeds removed |
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| Pears hollowed and peeled, ready to be cooked |
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Combine wine, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks (canela), cloves and lemon zest in a pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Add pears and 3 cups of boiling water. Place parchment paper over the pears to keep the them submerged in liquid. This way the color will be even all around the pears. Let it simmer over low heat until pears are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove pears, set aside let them cool to room temperature.Â
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| Pears in liquid with sugar and spices |
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| Parchment paper is used to submerge the pears in liquid |
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| Pears cooked, ready to be stuffed |
In a small pan combine 1 cup of the left over liquid. Add 1/2 cup sugar. Simmer on low stirring for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Set aside for garnishing.
Stuff the pears with the fruit and nut mixture. Pack tightly. There will be some stuffing left for garnishing.
Chill stuffed pears in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.
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| Stuffed Pear |
To serve, place a pear in a serving dish. Drizzle some of the sauce over the pear, let it drip down to the plate. Place a scoop of vanilla ice-cream next to the pear. Sprinkle left over apricot/currant/walnut stuffing over the ice cream. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!
