I did this christmas 2006. An advantage was I could calmly prepare it before the hoards arrived. The added marinating time (it will hang in in the fridge for up to a week) was really useful. Because when it came to eat it – I could really appreciate it as it was ready and waiting to serve.

Serves 4

1 bottle good-quality red wine
200ml crème de cassis or blackcurrant syrup
200g sugar (or 300g if not using crème de cassis)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1 star anise
20g ginger root, peeled
25g liquorice root
Zest of 1 orange, peeled in one piece (using a sharp peeler)
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in one piece
8-10 ripe, unblemished pears

Bring the wine to the boil in a casserole big enough to hold the pears and boil for 10 minutes to drive off the acidity. Remove from the heat, then add all the other ingredients, except the pears.

Prepare the pears. Peel them, leaving the stem intact. If you are keeping them whole, remove the core so that they cook evenly all the way through. To core them, insert the tip of a peeler into the base of the pear just on the edge of the core, push into the fruit and turn the peeler around the core, cutting it out. If halving the pears, do so lengthways. Neatly cut out the root and core.

The liquid will have cooled down a little by now. Place the prepared pears side by side in the pan and top with a disc of greaseproof paper cut to the same size as the pan. Pierce a few holes in the paper and press it down slightly so that some of the poaching liquid comes through the holes: this will keep the pears submerged during cooking. If the liquid does not cover the pears, add a little water until it does.

Place the casserole back on the heat and bring to a simmer. As soon as this happens, turn down the heat and cook at a gentle simmer — just enough to form the odd bubble on the surface of the water — for 30 minutes, or until the pears are done. Test by inserting a small pointed knife into the flesh. If it goes in with little resistance, they are ready.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cold, carefully transfer the fruit to a sealable container. If you have added extra water, reduce the liquid to the required consistency and taste. If it is still too thin, thicken with a little cornflour. Reserve the zest and spices for decoration, if required. Pour the liquid over the pears in their container and store in the fridge for at least a day. The pears will keep for a week in the poaching liquid. Serve hot or cold.

I found this one on the BBC web site – by Rachel Allen

I’ll come back and give some news on how it works. This is for a large “tart”, whereas the one I ate was an individual sponge with a whole poached pear inside.

———————

Ingredients
175g/6oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
50g/2oz plain flour
100g/4oz ground almonds
1 lemon, zest only
5 free-range egg whites
175g/6oz butter, melted, plus extra butter for greasing
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and quartered, then cut into long slices about 5mm/¼in thick
25g/1oz flaked almonds

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Lightly grease the sides of a 23cm/9in tart tin with a removable bottom and place a disc of greaseproof paper on the base. If you prefer, you can serve this tart on the tart tin base,
in which case do not use a disc of paper.
3. Sieve the icing sugar and flour into a clean bowl and stir in the ground almonds and
lemon zest.
4. Place the free-range egg whites into another clean bowl. Whisk the egg whites for 30 seconds, until just frothy.
5. Add the whisked egg whites and warm melted butter to the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Mix the ingredients until the Ingredients combine and become smooth. Then pour the mixture into the prepared tart tin.
6. Arrange the pieces of pear on the top of the mixture and sprinkle the flaked almonds onto the top of the pears.
7. Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat of the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook for a further ten minutes or until the mixture has risen and has a pale golden colour. The filling should feel firm to the touch in the centre when cooked through. Remove the tin from the oven and allow it to sit in the tin for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.
8. To serve, place the tart on a clean plate and dust with icing sugar.

VARIATIONS
Instead of pears I sometimes use 100g/4oz raspberries or blackberries (either fresh or frozen) for the topping. Alternatively, I use 50g/2oz pine nuts instead of fruit. You can also make this with 100g/4oz peach or nectarine slices, which is particularly nice in the summer!