Cooked Pears with Mascarpone and Ginger
Often pears are poached with sugar in a dry white or red wine. Why not poach ripe pears in a dessert wine? Use its natural sweetness to flavor the fruit when poaching, then serve the same wine with the dessert making it a special finale for your meal. A terrific Italian dessert wine for serving and for cooking is Moscato d'Asti, made from plump moscato grapes. Aromatic with spicy tones, it is favored for fruit and chocolate desserts, and becomes a delicious honeylike syrup when reduced. Among the top producers of this wine, made sparkling or still, are La Spinetta-Rivetti and Paolo Saracco. If unavailable, make with a light, fruity dessert wine from Italy, California or the Pacific Northwest.
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2
large firm ripe pears (Bartlett, d'Anjou)
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1 1/2
cups Moscato d'Asti wine or clear apple juice
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1
stick cinnamon
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1/2
teaspoon allspice berries or 1 whole clove
Topping:-
1/2
cup mascarpone cheese or whipping cream
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2
teaspoons confectioners' or powdered sugar
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1
teaspoon milk
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chopped candied ginger or shaved chocolate
2. In a saucepan, combine the wine or apple juice and spices. Bring to a boil, then place the pears in the liquid, cored side down. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Turn the pears over and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until barely soft when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Using a slotted spoon, place each pear half, cored side down, on serving plates.
Reduce the wine or juice by simmering over medium heat for 5 minutes or until a thick syrup forms. (The apple juice will not thicken very much, but will reduce and become concentrated in flavor.) Strain through a fine-mesh sieve then discard the contents, reserving the syrup.
3. Topping: Put the mascarpone, sugar and milk in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and slightly fluffy. If using whipping cream, omit the milk, use a mixer and whip until almost stiff peak.
4. Serving: If you like a fan-shape for the poached pears, hold a paring knife at a 45º angle to the pears and make 4-5 slashes completely through each half, leaving the tops intact. Gently press down with your fingertips to spread apart the slices. Drizzle the reduced syrup over, then anoint with dollops of mascarpone or whipped cream. Evenly sprinkle over the top of each pear, either chopped candied ginger or chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler.
