The pears will absorb the color from the cranberry juice turning the pears a rose color. Be sure and plan ahead so your pears will be ripe. They should give slightly when pressed. If they are hard and under ripe the end result will not be pleasing.
In class a few of the students found this out when their pears took forever to soften; a few never did. I wish those pears had been purchased a few days earlier. But they were beautiful.
Campari Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce topped off with Mascarpone
Ingredients
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup cranberry-raspberry juice drink
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Campari
Zest from one orange
4 medium Bosc pears
1/2 lemon
1 10-ounce package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
3 tablespoons orange liqueur
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Fresh mint leaves
Instructions:
Combine cranberry-raspberry juice drink, sugar, Campari and orange zest in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover and reduce heat to very low, keeping poaching liquid hot.
Peel pears, leaving stems attached. Rub pears all over with cut lemon half. Using melon baller, remove cores through wide end of pears, then cut thin slice off wide ends so that pears can stand upright. Add pears to poaching liquid. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until pears are tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in poaching liquid.
Cook raspberries with 2 tablespoons orange liqueur and currant jelly. Cool and strain raspberry sauce through fine sieve.
(Pears and raspberry sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and keep refrigerated.)
Whisk mascarpone, powdered sugar and remaining orange liqueur in bowl to blend.
Garnish with mint leaves.
Cooking Wiser:
Remember when you are zesting citrus fruit only take off the color and not the bitter white pith underneath.
