Poached pears in Port recipe, made for Port Wine Day

Poached pears in Port are the plainest way to cook with a fortified wine, and the whole dish turns on one rule: never let the pan boil.

Portugal marks Port Wine Day on 10 September, the date in 1756 when the Marquis of Pombal set up the Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro and demarcated the Douro, the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has run the celebration since 2014.

This poached pears in Port recipe uses ruby rather than tawny: it holds more colour and fresh fruit, and it does not lose its nut and caramel notes to the heat. Buy pears that are firm to the thumb. A ripe pear turns to fibre in wine.

A ripe pear turns to fibre in wine; buy them firm to the thumb.

Ingredients

• 4 firm pears, about 180 g each
• 500 ml ruby Port
• 200 ml water
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 strips of orange zest, no white pith
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Peel the pears, leaving the stalks on, and cut a thin slice off each base so they stand up. Rub them with lemon juice, which slows the browning while you build the syrup.
2. Put the Port, water, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, peppercorns and bay leaf in a narrow, deep pan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. A narrow pan means less liquid is needed to cover the fruit.
3. Stand the pears in the pan; the liquid should come close to the stalks. Press a disc of baking paper onto the surface so the tops stay wet and take colour evenly.
4. Hold the pan at a bare tremble, around 85-90C, for 25 to 35 minutes, turning the pears once. A skewer should meet slight resistance at the core. A rolling boil breaks the flesh into threads.
5. Take the pan off the heat and let the pears cool in the syrup, two hours at least, overnight if you can. Colour and aromatics move into the fruit as the liquid drops in temperature, not while it is hot.
6. Lift the pears out. Reduce the syrup over medium heat to about 150 ml, until it coats the back of a spoon. Reducing after poaching keeps the rising sugar from tightening the fruit.
7. Serve the pears warm or cold with the syrup spooned over, and a spoon of thick cream or cold rice pudding alongside.

What to pour with them

Do not drink the same ruby you cooked with. A 10-year tawny served at 12-14C has the walnut and dried-fig register the dish is missing, and the temperature keeps the sweetness in check.

For a paler version, swap in white Port, drop the cinnamon and add a split vanilla pod and a strip of lemon. The pears keep four days in their syrup in the fridge, and improve on day two. If you are cooking through the harvest, our Zwiebelkuchen, the onion tart of the harvest, is the savoury half of the same week.