Category: Dessert

Title: Pere al Vino Chianti

Ingredients

6 large, firm pears, preferably bosc, with stems
4 c good quality Chianti wine
1 c tawny port
1 c cold water
½ lemon
1 cinnamon stick
6 T granulated sugar

Directions

1. Peal the pears, then flatten the bottoms by cutting off a thin slice. Stand the pears up in a large metal casserole. (The casserole should be large enough to fit pears snug enough without crowding, but not large enough to fall over.)

2. Add the wine, port, and water to the pears. Squeeze the half lemon and cut off a slice of peel. Add the juice and the peel to the casserole, along with the cinnamon stick and then sprinkle over with 4 teaspoons of sugar.

3. Cover the casserole tightly and let simmer slowly for about 25 minutes. Test with a tooth pick to be sure the pears are well cooked before removing from the flame, then leave the cooked pears in the casserole for 10 to 15 minutes to cool.

4. Stand the cooled pears up in a serving dish, cover the dish with a aluminum foil and place dish in the refrigerator.

5. Remove the lemon peel from the casserole and transfer the sauce to a small saucepan. Add the remaining sugar and simmer again until the sauce is reduce to the consistency of a light syrup (30 to 40 minutes). Let the sauce cool for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the pears from the refrigerator and pour the sauce over.

Yields 6

Provided by Damian Mandola from Mandola Estate Winery, Driftwood, Texas.