Description[]
Source: COOK COLOR - MARIA ZIZKA
Romance and passion swirled together on a plate. Choose an organic rose, if possible, in case you decide to eat the garnish. Rose petals taste floral, a little earthy, and slightly sweet—sort of like a mild strawberry (the two are botanically related).
Ingredients[]
- 1 lemon
- 6 ripe but slightly firm pears
- 1 (750 ml) bottle red wine
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- ¼ cup (85 g) honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 star anise pod
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons labne or thick Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- ½ cup (160 g) sour cherry jam
- 1 cup (175 g) pomegranate arils
- Petals from 1 organic red rose
Directions[]
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove 3 strips of lemon peel from the lemon.
- Cut the lemon in half.
- Peel the pears, leaving their stems (if they have any) intact.
- Rub the cut lemon all over the peeled pears.
- Place the pears in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot.
- Add the wine, sugar, honey, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and strips of lemon peel.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook, turning once or twice, until the pears are tender when poked with a fork, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer the pears to a bowl.
- Bring the poaching liquid to a rapid boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup (240 ml).
- Pour the red wine syrup over the pears and let them soak until you’re ready to serve.
- Just before serving, in a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, labne, and rose water until it holds soft, billowy peaks.
- Gently fold in the sour cherry jam, mixing until it’s almost combined but still a little swirly.
- Serve each pear with a dollop of sour cherry cream, a drizzle of the wine syrup, a large spoonful of pomegranate arils, and a few rose petals.
Yield: Serves 6