What a fine Pear you have…

Poached Pears ready for my Pear & Almond Tart

The Lets Bake class is on tomorrow and I am poaching pears in preparation for the Pear & Almond Tart we are going to make. You can use canned pears but since learning about the awful residues leaching from the plastic coatings in cans, I try to steer clear of canned food now. For more information about this, go here and then here.

Poaching pears in the TM is very easy. It’s a cross between poaching and steaming as you do it in the Varoma. The syrup can be varied using different flavouring agents. This recipe is just a basic one but you could vary it by adding saffron, spices or changing the wine.

2 firm or underripe pears
150g white wine
450g water
180g sugar
1 lemon, peeled
2 strips of orange rind (use a potato peeler)
1 cinnamon stick

Put the lemon & sugar into the TM bowl and blitz on SP 7, 5 seconds. Put the remaining syrup ingredients except for the pears in the TM bowl. Cook these for 10 minutes at 100°C on speed 2 REVERSE.

Peel and halve the pears, take out the core with a teaspoon or parisienne cutter. Place the pear halves in a deep bowl that fits into the Varoma. Pour the hot syrup  in to cover the pears and cover with a cartouche (a circle of baking paper). This keeps the pears submerged.

Add 500ml of water to the Thermomix bowl  and set the Thermomix to cook for approximately 15 minutes (depending on the size & ripeness of the pears) at Varoma temperature on speed 3.

You may need to turn the pears during cooking to ensure that they cook evenly.

The pears will still be firm when removed from the Varoma and allowed to cool covered in the cooking syrup. You can use the same syrup over again. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge.

Pears poaching under cartouche