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Malbec-Poached Pears with Ice Cream and Toasted Almonds
Argentinian malbecs are affordable, full-bodied, richly colored red wines with a lush, plump fruitiness. And all of that makes them ideal for poaching fruit. We tried different varieties of pears and liked Bosc best because their texture held up nicely with simmering. Make sure to choose fruits that are ripe, yet firm; they should not yield to pressure. A full teaspoon of salt in the poaching liquid may seem like a lot, but we found that it made the fruit, wine and spice flavors taste full and complex.
6
Servings
Tip
Don’t use a cast-iron skillet. Reactive metals, including carbon steel, will react with the acidity of the wine and vinegar and impart a metallic taste to the pears and poaching liquid. Opt instead for stainless steel, anodized aluminum or nonstick.
45 minutes
Plus
Ingredients
-
2
cups malbec wine
-
1
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into ¼-inch slices and smashed
Directions
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01In a nonreactive 12-inch skillet over medium, combine the wine, ginger, star anise, sugar and salt. Using a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves and add to the wine, then drop in the pod halves. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Arrange the pear quarters in an even layer in the liquid, cut side down. Return to a simmer, cover and cook, adjusting the heat to maintain a simmer and turning the pears three or four times, until a knife inserted into a pear meets no resistance, 30 to 35 minutes.
Reviews
April 3, 2026
Too Salty, not enough syrup
I don’t often follow recipes exactly, but this one I did. I found it delicious, but too salty, and there was nowhere near enough sauce/syrup. Next time I will use only a half teaspoon of Kosher salt. And I will double the amount of wine. Or maybe add some water. And maybe that will require extra sugar. The spice combination is delicious. I used half Bosc and half Bartlett just to see which I preferred. Both were delicious.
I prepared it for a dairy-free guest, so I made an almond-milk soft custard which was delicious with it.
And I made the Milk Street Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies to accompany the pears—exquisite combination.
I will prepare this recipe many times, but with less salt and more liquid to make a more adequate volume of sauce/syrup.
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