Apricot Poached Pears Recipes

Steps:

• Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large, shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baller. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes, carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are all tender.
• Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

Steps:

• Fill a bowl with water, and add the lemon juice. Peel the pears, taking care to leave the stem intact, and place in the bowl of water.
• Tie the peppercorns and cinnamon stick into a cheesecloth pouch, and place in a large saucepan. Add the wine and honey, and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer 10 minutes. Drain the pears and carefully add to the wine. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow the pears to cool in the liquid. Discard the cheesecloth bag.
• Place the pears in serving dishes. Return the wine to the saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce by half of its volume. Spoon over the pears. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.

Steps:

• Wash and then soak the dried apricots in 2 cups of water overnight.
• Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Drain the apricots over a bowl. Transfer the liquid to a saucepan and add the sugar, cardamom pods, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and add the apricots. Cover the apricots with a small sheet of parchment paper. Cover the pan and poach the apricots in a 300-degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Then let the apricots cool in their liquid; then chill.
• Just before serving, lift out the apricots to drain. Mix the yogurt and ricotta together, open each apricot and stuff it with the yogurt mixture. Place the stuffed apricots on a serving plate, spoon over a little syrup. Garnish with pistachios. Recommended drink: Camomile Tea, infused with cardamom, cinnamon and clove

Steps:

• Put preserves in a 1-cup measure. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent power in a high-power oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the kirsch. Pass mixture through a sieve into a shallow bowl. Set aside.
• Peel the pears and core them through the bottom. As you work, rub the pears inside and out with the remaining lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
• Roll each apricot lengthwise and put one in the cavity of each pear. Coat the pears in the apricot mixture.
• Arrange pears in a circle around the inside rim of a 2 1/4-quart souffle dish. Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap. Cook 7 minutes. Prick plastic to release steam.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Serve hot or cold. Put each pear on a plate and spoon some of the remaining sauce over.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, the rum, and 1/2 cup water and simmer the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the pear, peeled, halved, and cored, and the apricots and poach the fruit, covered, spooning the syrup over the pear occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pear is tender. In a small heavy saucepan combine the chocolate, 2 tablespoons water, and the vanilla and heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is smooth. Transfer the pear halves to a work surface, cut them diagonally, into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and fan them onto 2 plates. Sprinkle the apricots over the pear slices and spoon the chocolate sauce around the fruit.

Steps:

• Poach pears
• Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside mouth of a heavy large pot. Combine wine, sugar, vanilla bean, canela, anise seeds, and lemon zest in pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Add pears and enough water to cover, 3 to 4 cups. Place parchment paper over pears to keep them submerged, and bring liquid to gentle simmer. Simmer until pears are just tender, about 12 minutes. Remove pears, discarding liquid, cool completely, and refrigerate until chilled.
• Make stuffing
• Melt butter or margarine in medium skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add chopped apricots and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add brown sugar and cook mixture, stirring constantly, until light syrup develops, about 1 more minute. Remove from heat and cool.
• Stuff pecan mixture into hollowed pears, packing tightly. Refrigerate until chilled.
• Make chocolate sauce
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter or margarine in small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate.
• Remove pears from refrigerator and dip into chocolate sauce, tilting and swirling pan to coat bottom half of each pear.
• Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set.
• Make sabayon
• In metal bowl whisk together egg yolks, wine, sugar, and chile powder until well combined. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and cook mixture, whisking constantly, until foamy and thick enough that strokes leave a clear path, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bowl from over water.
• To serve
• Ladle sabayon into 6 shallow bowls. Place 1 pear in each bowl. Garnish with fresh mint and berries.