Pear Confit

I decided for my blip today I would share one of my favourite recipes.  You may notice the little yellow tabs at the top of the page.  I couldn't even count the number of times I have made Pear Confit as an accompaniment to a cheese platter.  For those of you who have poor eyesight, here is the recipe that I make.

Before you make the coffin, you will need to poach the pears in wine.  Then its is just a matter of boiling and reducing the poaching liquor.

6 firm medium sized pears, preferably a little under-ripe.
1cup (200g) of sugar
2 1/2 cups of water
2 1/2 cups of white wine
Vanilla Bean

To Poach the Pears
Peel the pears, leaving them whole, and place with remaining ingredients in a saucepan.  Ideally the liquid should just cover the pears.  If it doesn't add more water and wine.  Simmer gently for up to 20 minutes until tender.  The key to this recipe is slow poaching - do not plunge the pears into building liquid and cook quickly or the flavour will not penetrate.
Remove the pears from the liquid.

To make the confit
After removing the pears, turn up the heat, and boil and reduce the syrup to a caramel consistency.  Slice the pears and return to the syrup.  Cool.  I always serve the confit with a beautifully ripened brie and water biscuits or lavoche.  Honestly, it's absolutely delicious.


The book title is "plates" - Real Food for Fast People, by a well known foodie in Australia, Lyndey Milan.  It was published in 1995 and if any of my blip buddies are interested, it looks like you can still buy the book online at Amazon.  Let me tell you, this book has several little yellow tabs.  It has been one of my go to books for over 20 years.