Hamptons Poached Pears

The leaves are ablaze in hues of red, yellow, and orange and there’s a nip in the air that calls for our favorite, coziest sweater. It’s fall, perhaps my favorite time of the year. Yet as I celebrate all the delightful bounty this gorgeous season has to offer, I can’t help but feel slightly melancholy. Fresh berries and the abundant variety of produce that summer offers are now just sweet memories. The only fruits in my garden that appear to be ripefully happy and truly inspiring are pears and apples. Thankfully, I adore both. 

What better way to celebrate fall’s splendor than to reach for tried and true recipes? The Chocolate Apple Cake recipe I shared in my last post is my family’s favorite. Hamptons Poached Pears are an easy but elegant approach to the other star of the season, and one that I’ve made for years.

The first time I tasted a poached pear was at the Moulin de Mougins, the famous restaurant in the south of France founded by Roger Vergé. I was lucky enough to enjoy the experience when Chef Vergé was still in the kitchen. 

Cooked fruits and compotes are among the simplest of French family treats to prepare. To poach any fruit, you simply cook it slowly, usually on the stovetop, covered in a hot liquid. Most times the liquid is simple sugar syrup infused with herbs and spices or vanilla beans. Equally popular, especially for pears, is to use a lovely red wine for the poaching liquid, as I’ve done here. 

Poaching is a great way to showcase flavorful fruits that don’t need elaborate preparation, so you want to start with excellent quality fruit for the best results. Bosc pears, with their spicy flavor and crisp flesh, are the best variety to use. As for the wine, I’ve seen both light bodied and full bodied red wines recommended for poaching; I used a Francis Coppola Merlot. You don’t have to choose an expensive wine, but do use one that you would be happy to drink—it is, after all, half the recipe. (Do not use cooking wine.)

In the Vergé kitchen I was taught to core the fruit from the bottom so that the stems stay intact and the pear looks whole on the plate. I sometimes choose this method—it makes a beautiful presentation that celebrates the natural beauty of the fruit’s shape. But I’ve also seen many guests splash red wine onto themselves as they tuck into their dessert and so I choose a different preparation for most of my dinner parties: the pears are poached whole, then cored and sliced with an apple cutter before serving.

At the Moulin de Mougins, poached pears were presented with small dollops of the freshest, sweetest crème fraîche I had ever tasted. In typical Vergé style, the flavors of the ripe pear and red wine took center stage and married perfectly with just the right amount of cool, sweet cream. Light, fresh, and truly elegant! 

For more formal dinners I make a homemade whipped cream and pipe it onto the plate. You could also use crème fraîche or Greek yogurt. Today, since I’m celebrating the sweet, natural flavor of tree-ripened pears from my garden, I’ve chosen a simple mint garnish. Mint is still growing wildly in my kitchen garden. Its fresh, sweet flavor complements the pears perfectly and it adds a fresh, dark-green contrast to the flower-shaped dessert plates I’m using. (The tartufo ice cream dessert was available for the children too young for the wine-infused pears.)

Yield: Serves 6 to 8