Malbec-Poached Pears with Ice Cream and Toasted Almonds
We’ll take poached pears any night of the year—especially with the almost magical combination of fresh ginger and star anise-spiced wine.
- Makes6 servings
- Cook Time45 minutes
- Active time plus coolingPlus
Argentinian malbecs are affordable, full-bodied, richly colored red wines with a lush, plump fruitiness. And all of that makes them ideal for poaching fruit. We tried different varieties of pears and liked Bosc best because their texture held up nicely with simmering. Make sure to choose fruits that are ripe, yet firm; they should not yield to pressure. A full teaspoon of salt in the poaching liquid may seem like a lot, but we found that it made the fruit, wine and spice flavors taste full and complex.
Don’t use a cast-iron skillet. Reactive metals, including carbon steel, will react with the acidity of the wine and vinegar and impart a metallic taste to the pears and poaching liquid. Opt instead for stainless steel, anodized aluminum or nonstick.
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