There’s little sprouting in your window boxes or outdoor planters, and the farmer’s markets are scant with fresh bounty. This doesn’t mean however that the colder months have nothing to offer from the garden. They might have been picked or dug up  a while ago, but there’s a plethora of produce and fruit in storage to be relished. Look to cabbages, root vegetables, winter squash, apple and pears kept crisp and firm in cool, dry, purpose-built cellars.  Don’t let the words “in storage” put you off. You’re not getting short-changed nutritionally, or taste-wise: nature has stepped in with thick skins, turgid, moisture-retaining cells, and robust, structurally sound flesh to ensure that all these wintertime winners will stay fresh and vitamin-filled until spring arrives.

One of my favorite cellar fruits are pears. With their sweet, creamy flesh and abundant juice they’re not just perfect for snacking out of hand, they’re delicious cooked in sweet and savory dishes. And since they come in so many varieties – short and stout, tall and slender, emerald green and rich crimson, each one with their particular assets, you can pick and choose which best suits your recipe. For cooking, I like to use Anjou, Bartlett, and Bosc.

When ripe, keep your pears in the fridge in ziploc bags with the air squeezed out. They’ll soften quickly as they reach their prime, so be careful not to bruise them and use them up before they get mushy. Try pears raw sliced in thin wedges or chopped into small chunks in peppery salads with pungent blue cheeses or pecorino, roasted with a little honey or maple syrup and served alongside pork chops or chicken breast, and simmered into a compote with star anise, cinnamon, brown sugar and white wine vinegar for a condiment to go with cold cuts. For dessert, they’re ideal in crisps, pies and tarts – by themselves or combined with apples, plump raisins or even dark, rich chocolate fillings. I’m a great fan of poached pears which will keep in the fridge in their poaching liquor – wine, spiced sugar syrup, or juice  for 3 or 4 days. Serve the poached fruit with mascarpone or ice cream, or pureed and stirred into whipped cream or yogurt. You could even artfully arrange wedges of the cooked pear on the top of a pan of cake mix and bake, or fold the diced fruit into pancake batter.

Click ahead for the recipe for  Spiced Red Wine Pears

Spiced Red Wine Pears
Serves 4 to 6 

Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp grated ginger
100ml crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur – optional)
1 bottle red wine
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole black peppercorns
1 cup soft brown sugar
4 – 6 unblemished, firm pears, peeled but kept whole
2 Tbs butter, diced

1. Place the orange and lemon zest, ginger, creme de cassis – if using, red wine, spices, and brown sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a gently simmer and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2. Place the pears in the spiced wine and poach them, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will depend on how ripen your pears are. To test if they are ready,  pierce with a cocktail stick – they should be tender all the way through.
3. Take the pears from the pan, then strain the cooking liquid. Discard the zest and the spices, and return the liquid to the pan, bring to the boil and reduce by half so that it’s syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, and lightly sweetened whipped cream or mascarpone.

Tags: pears