Summary

Serves: 8

Preparation: ¼ hour

Cooking: 3 ¼ hours

Total: 3 ½ hours

Ingredients

8 large pears with stalks

500 ml (2 cups) red wine

50 g (¼ cup) fine sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 vanilla pod

2 tsp arrowroot or potato flour (starch)

You'll also need a large enough casserole to take the pears lying on their sides

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 130C (250F, gas ½, fan 120C)

2. Peel the pears but leave the stalks intact. Then slice off a thin slice from the bottom of each pear so that they can sit upright

3. Lay the pears on their sides in a large casserole. Pour over the red wine then sprinkle with sugar and add the cinnamon sticks and the vanilla pod. Now bring everything to simmering point, cover the casserole and bake in the oven on a low shelf for 1½ hours

4. Turn the pears over onto their other side, then cook for another 1½ hours

5. When the pears are cooked, transfer them to a serving bowl to cool, leaving the liquid in the casserole. Remove the cinnamon sticks and vanilla pod

6. Mix the arrowroot or potato flour (starch) with a little cold water to make a smooth paste. Add this to the casserole, whisking as you add it. Bring the syrup to a simmer, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and leave to cool

7. When the sauce is cold, pour it over the pears and cover with food wrap. Place the pears in the fridge to cool thoroughly

8. Serve the pears sitting upright in individual dishes with the sauce spooned over them. They are nice on their own, but they can also be served with pouring cream, crème fraîche or a small scoop of cinnamon ice cream

Pears in red wine. Photo: John Duxbury

Tips

– When cooking pears in red wine, Swedes normally add cinnamon and vanilla, but you can also use nutmeg and cinnamon. You can also add other fruit.

– You can substitute red wine with strong dry apple cider or pear cider 

– When shopping for pears, choose hard ones with a good shape and a long stalk, so that the pear can be picked up by the stalk

This recipe was originally published on food writer John Duxbury's Swedish Food website.