' SUMMER PEARS .' poached in mulled wines

New season Pears poached in Red & White mulled wines , Poaching liquors , Hazelnut cream and fresh sage and thyme .

                     These pears were labeled new season are a summer variety of pear called Bartlett. Only on the shelves for a short period, their gone quicker than they came in. The summer pear season is extremely short compared to the common winter pears. Due to their small size they make perfect poaching pears for those desserts on summer nights. But the real heroes here are the two perfectly contrasting wines I've used for the poaching liquors. Both wines were a generous gift to my wife given to her at Christmas time by Steve, the owner manager of 'Kitchen Crew' a Kitchen Designer company. The red wine is a Peter Lehmann 2010 Futures Shiraz from the Barossa region. The berries have been sourced from a small number of vineyards that specialise in producing low yielding high concentration fruit which is prominent to the rich velvety palate and deep colour. The white wine is a dessert wine of 27% alc. made by a Cretan establishment better known for its apiaries and honey production. This imported wine from Aroma of Crete company in Chania, Crete is based on an old mediterranean recipe from Greece. Made from tsikoudia (brandy made from distilled grape must), thyme honey and spices.                                                                                                                              
                     To poach these pears I started with adding some white wine, water, lemon juice, sugar, lemon peel and fresh thyme to a small pot bringing to the boil and removing from the heat. In a separate pot I added the red wine, water, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, sage, bay leaf and cloves. Also bringing this to the boil and removing from the heat. I then prepared the pears peeling them and slicing a slither off the bottom of each one so they can stand freely. Dividing the pairs I placed half standing in the white wine liquor and the other half in the red wine liquor, returning them back to the stove and brought to a gentle simmer, I ladled syrup over the pears every 5 minutes and poached them for around 30 minutes with lids on the pots. Once the pears were tender and easy to pierce with the point of a sharp knife, I removed them from their syrups and allowed them to cool before slicing for presentation. The poaching liquors were returned back to a simmer for a further 20-25 minutes to reduce more and thicken. To make the accompanying cream I beat full cream, panela and hazelnut syrup together using a bar mix until thick, of which I then spooned into a piping bag and placed in the fridge before being piped for presentation.