Sous Vide Red Wine-Poached Pears with Whipped Sour Cream and Candied Pistachios
By America's Test KitchenPublished on January 20, 2021
Time
Sous vide: 30 to 60 minutes; active cooking time: 30 minutes, plus resting and chilling time
Yield
Serves 6
Sous Vide Temperature
176°F/80°C
Ingredients
Pears
1 vanilla bean 1 750 milliliter bottle dry red wine ¾ cup sugar ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked6 whole cloves 1 cinnamon stick ⅛ teaspoon salt 6 ripe but firm Bosc or Bartlett pears, peeled, halved, and coredCandied Pistachios
½ cup pistachio, chopped coarse3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoons honeyWhipped Sour Cream
¼ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoons sugar ¼ cup sour creamBefore You Begin
Use a good-quality medium-bodied wine, such as a Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, for this recipe. Be sure to double bag the pears to protect against seam failure. Pears have a tendency to float when placed in a sous vide water bath, which can lead to uneven cooking. Use weights to make sure the pears are fully immersed during cooking. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- For the pears Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 176°F/80°C in 7-quart container.
- Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Bring vanilla bean and seeds, wine, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and salt to simmer in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to ⅔ cup, about 20 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl; discard solids. Let mixture cool slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Place pears and wine mixture in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and seal, pressing out as much air as possible. Place bag in second 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and seal. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath, weight bag until pears are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Transfer bag with pears to plate and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours.
- For the candied pistachios Lightly grease rimmed baking sheet. Combine pistachios, sugar, and honey in 8-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pistachios are fragrant and sugar has melted and is light golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Off heat, stir mixture until pistachios are evenly coated with caramel, then quickly transfer to prepared sheet. Spread into thin, even layer and let cool completely, about 10 minutes. Break pistachios into bite-size pieces.
- For the whipped sour cream Combine cream, sugar, and pinch salt in bowl. Using whisk, whip cream mixture to stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in sour cream until just combined.
- Divide pears and syrup among individual serving bowls. Dollop whipped sour cream over top and sprinkle with candied pistachios.To Make Ahead Pears can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Sous Vide Red Wine-Poached Pears with Whipped Sour Cream and Candied Pistachios
Time
Sous vide: 30 to 60 minutes; active cooking time: 30 minutes, plus resting and chilling timeYield
Serves 6Sous Vide Temperature
176°F/80°CIngredients
Pears
Candied Pistachios
Whipped Sour Cream
Ingredients
Pears
Candied Pistachios
Whipped Sour Cream
Ingredients
Pears
Candied Pistachios
Whipped Sour Cream
Why This Recipe Works
This French dessert features just-ripe pears poached gently in an intensely sweet, boozy syrup. Served hot or cold, the fruit practically melts in your mouth, perfect with ice cream or crème fraîche. Typically, most recipes call for simmering pears in a loose, syrupy base. But stovetop simmering often results in mushy, overcooked fruit. Instead we started with a spicy red-wine sauce, which we add to the bag to cook with the pears sous vide. At 176°F/80°C, pectin breaks down at a moderate rate, which guarantees just-tender pears that aren't mushy. But cooking pears sous vide releases a lot of water, and because there was no evaporation in our cooking method, the syrup ended up watery and diluted. To compensate, we reduced our cooking liquid significantly at the beginning, so that the liquid released from the pears rehydrated the syrup to the perfect consistency. Since everything is in a bag already, it's easy to chill everything down. All you have to do is open the bag and serve. To give this dessert some textural contrast, we made a simple pistachio brittle. Some whipped sour cream added a bit of tang.
Before You Begin
Use a good-quality medium-bodied wine, such as a Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, for this recipe. Be sure to double bag the pears to protect against seam failure. Pears have a tendency to float when placed in a sous vide water bath, which can lead to uneven cooking. Use weights to make sure the pears are fully immersed during cooking. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.
Instructions
- For the pears Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 176°F/80°C in 7-quart container.
- Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Bring vanilla bean and seeds, wine, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and salt to simmer in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to ⅔ cup, about 20 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl; discard solids. Let mixture cool slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Place pears and wine mixture in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and seal, pressing out as much air as possible. Place bag in second 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and seal. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath, weight bag until pears are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Transfer bag with pears to plate and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours.
- For the candied pistachios Lightly grease rimmed baking sheet. Combine pistachios, sugar, and honey in 8-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pistachios are fragrant and sugar has melted and is light golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Off heat, stir mixture until pistachios are evenly coated with caramel, then quickly transfer to prepared sheet. Spread into thin, even layer and let cool completely, about 10 minutes. Break pistachios into bite-size pieces.
- For the whipped sour cream Combine cream, sugar, and pinch salt in bowl. Using whisk, whip cream mixture to stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in sour cream until just combined.
- Divide pears and syrup among individual serving bowls. Dollop whipped sour cream over top and sprinkle with candied pistachios.To Make Ahead Pears can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
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