Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling

Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello

Show: Easy Entertaining with Michael ChiarelloEpisode: Fireplace Cooking

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (34)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(34)

Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 45 min
Total:: 1 hr 0 min

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Ingredients

6 firm Bartlett pears
1 bottle red wine
1 vanilla bean, whole
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
2 cups sugar
2 (8 ounce) containers mascarpone cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch cinnamon
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Peel pears and leave stem intact. In a large saucepan, bring wine and an equal amount of cold water to a simmer. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and add to wine and water mixture. Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and sugar, to taste. Add pears to liquid and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Cool pears in wine mixture to room temperature. You can refrigerate them in the poaching liquid until you're ready to fill them.

Remove stems from pears and set stems aside. Core pears with an apple corer, leaving pear whole.

Whisk together mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, pinch cinnamon and powdered sugar until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag, or if you do not have one, use wax paper tightly wrapped into a cone with the corner snipped off. Pipe filling into cored pears and finish by putting the stems gently into the mascarpone filling on top of the pears.

Bring sauce up to a simmer and reduce by half. Add butter to reduced sauce and stir until combined. Spoon generously over pears. Cool to room temperature before serving.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
Denise Seattle, WA 10-05-2009
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Always gets rave reviews...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've been making this recipe for a few years now, and have always gotten rave reviews. To really dress it up for holidays, I... make some chocolate leaves and tuck one in with the stem. Sometimes I brush the leaves with gold or silver luster dust. I've also made it into a tart...blind bake a tart shell, put the mascarpone cream in the bottom, slice the poached pears and arrange in a spiral pattern on top of the cream, brush on the syrup, and top with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios. Serve with a pitcher of extra sauce on the side. To die for!Read more
recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
Judy Falls Church, VA 08-10-2009
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Hit at the Dinner Party
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

In addition to the vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks, I added a star anise, cardamon, and two cloves to the simmering wine.... I also used a filling of mascarpone and confectioner's sugar on the side of the dish because I didn't have an apple corer or heavy cream. Everyone loved the dish, I was the only one with complaints (though they aren't really complaints, just improvements). My thought that the wine flavor was too subtle and the sauce tasted too much like a fruit sauce than a wine sauce. It tasted great while cooking but got too sweet as it reduced. Next time I'll just cook the pears in a bottle of wine and 1/2 cup of water and cut amount of sugar by half or so.Read more
recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
Sharon Encino, CA 04-13-2009
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Easy and delicious!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made these pears for dessert after Easter dinner and they were a hit. I cut the pears in half lengthwise and scooped out... the center with a melon baller. I served half a pear to each person in a pool of broth with the marscarpone mixture piped into the middle and a sprinkle of toasted walnuts over the top. Delicious!Read more
recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
SANDRA new york, NY 01-31-2009
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Sandra, Montreal
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Delicious and impressive! I doubled the pears but left the same quantity of wine and spices (only added a few cloves) and it... was enough. There was a lot of sauce at the end. The amount of mascarpone was more than sufficient even for 12 pears so I served a scoop or even two on the side. My guests loved it! Will make it over and over again.Read more
recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
Rose East Hampton, NY 10-14-2008
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WOW!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I just served these to my family tonight and WOW is all I have to say! These were incredible!! Everyone absolutely loved... them. I think the key factor was making them the night before and letting them soak in the wine mixture in the fridge for a whole day. they became such a deep ruby red color. They were beautiful. I definitely reccomend adding some of the marscapone filling on the side since there isn't a lot that fits into the pear itself. And I'm saving the wine sauce to pour over ice cream and fruit tomorrow! I'm even going to make these for a dinner party I'm giving this weekend for a bunch of people! Can't wait!Read more
recipe Red Wine Poached Pears with Mascarpone Filling
Anonymous 01-21-2008
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Drama on a platter
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made these Red Wine Poached Pears for New Year's Eve dinner with friends and again for an anniversary celebration for... guests. The first time I used a grocery story "Red Cooking Wine". The flavor was good but the color was weak. Note: I used ripe pears that were just beginning to get yellow and softer, not a hard pear. They cooked nicely but did take more than the 20 minutes recommended. The second time I used a Beaujolais red wine. The color was fabulous and the flavor was stronger. I enjoyed the Beaujolais but my husband preferred the first wine over the second one. An apple corer works beautifully to core the pears. The Beaujolais also made a nicer sauce after cooking down somewhat and made a beautiful presentation on a china platter. The pears were lined up on the long platter & covered with the brilliant red sauce. Not only do they taste wonderful but made a beautiful presentation. This will become one of my standards for all special dinners. Everyone was very impressed!Read more