Poached pear

Ingredients:

1 Madagascan Vanilla Mart pod
1 bottle red wine
1 cinnamon stick
220g caster sugar
Fresh sprigs of thyme
6 pears peeled, keep whole on stalk

Method:

• Add the vanilla seeds, wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme to a large saucepan.
• Cut the vanilla pod into three strips and add to pan.
• Lower in the pears. Poach for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine.
• Remove the pears from the saucepan, then boil the liquid to reduce, so that it’s syrupy and thick.
• Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla and cream.

Secret Trick:

• Short for time? Prepare your poached pears up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Check if your pears are cooked by piercing them with a cocktail stick. If done, they should be tender.