pears in amarone

method

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Split the vanilla beans and remove the seeds (see page 304). Put the seeds and pods into an appropriately sized casse- role-type pan that will hold all your pears snugly, and add the wine, sugar, cinnamon, and orange juice and zest. Throw in your thyme, secured together in a little bunch with string. Bring to a boil, turn down to a sim- mer, and add your pears, sitting upright. Put the lid on the pan and bake in the preheated oven for around 1 hour, until the pears are soft and ten- der but not falling apart. They should be soft all the way through but retain their shape. (Sometimes they can take less or more time de- pending on the ripeness of the pears.) When they’re ready they will have taken on the flavor and color of the wine and should smell delicious.

By now the wine and the sugar will have thickened and the flavor will have intensified. Remove the pears to a dish, turn up the heat under the pan and reduce the wine by about half. Remove from the heat and add the butter — shake the pan but don’t give it any more heat. This will give you a really intense, tasty sauce which is to die for. Put the pears back in the pan and leave until ready to serve. Warm is the best temperature to serve this dish, and it’s best with some nice whipped sour cream or crème fraîche — a lovely contrast to the richness of the sauce.

serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 750 ml bottle of Amarone or Barolo red wine
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• a small cinnamon stick
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• a small bunch of fresh thyme
• 8 Comice pears, peeled and base removed
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butte