White Wine and Vanilla Poached Pears | The Chopping Block

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White Wine and Vanilla Poached Pears with Toasted Hazelnuts

For an impressive yet fast dessert, serve poached pears for the perfect end to a meal.

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Yield: 4 servings

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Active Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 hour, 20 minutes

For this recipe you’ll need:

3 cups white wine
3 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 strips orange zest
Four small, ripe-but-firm pears, peeled and cored
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and rough chopped

To poach the pears, place the wine, water, sugar, vanilla pod and scrapings, and zest in a saucepan large enough to hold the pears. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and submerge the pears in the liquid. Poach at a gentle simmer until the pears are just tender when a knife is inserted.
Cool the pears in the poaching liquid. Note: Pears may be refrigerated, once cool, in their liquid for several days.
To serve the pears, spoon a pool of Chocolate Sauce in the center of a plate or shallow dish. Place a poached pear in the center of the sauce. Drizzle the pear with additional chocolate sauce and garnish with a sprinkling of the hazlenuts.