Poached Pears in Red Wine

Instructions

1. Place the wine in a non-stick pan. Add the sugar, cloves, cinnamon and Star Anise and bring to the boil. Dissolve the sugar in red wine. Switch off heat.
2. Peel the pears from top to bottom, making sure that the stalk remains intact. Slice of the very bottom of the peeled pear – this is to ensure that it does not topple and easily lies flat in the pan, later. Lay the pears in the wine after each peel.
3. Simmer over a low heat the pears with the lid of the pan partially covering.
4. Every few minutes, use a plastic spoon to pour the red wine over the tops of the pears. Repeat this exercise, until the pears are well blanched and have turned a lovely burgundy colour. This process should take about 1 hour and 30 mins.
5. Gently remove the pears from the heat and place each pear into a dessert bowl.
6. Under a medium heat, simmer the liquid so that it becomes a much thicker syrup.
7. Remove the clove, cinnamon stick and Star Anise from the pan and evenly distribute the syrup.
8. Chill the pears for about a couple of hours or preferably overnight.