Drunken Pears in Wine (Portugal)

We tasted this dessert on our trip to Tomar. It is a small Portuguese town by the river Nabao, with 20 thousand inhabitants only. Nevertheless, it is one of the most interesting places in Portugal. In 2013, The Guardian elected The Convento de Cristo in Tomar as the most spectacular place to visit in Portugal: “…Founded by the Knights Templar, it’s a beautiful, mysterious and magical place, wonderful to discover and enjoy.” You can read more about it here.

Drunken Pears in Wine

We need:
4 medium ripe pears, peeled but kept whole with stalk
½ lemon
400 ml red wine
125 g brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
50 ml Port wine

Method:
Peel the lemon, keep the zest and squeeze out the juice. Sprinkle the pears with lemon juice to prevent them from becoming brown. Place cinnamon, lemon zest, sugar and red wine in a large pot and simmer on medium-low heat until sugar is melted. Now place the pears in the pot and boil them covered slowly on low heat for 20 minutes. Turn them upside down and boil for 15 more minutes. Once they are tender and the fork slides into the flesh of the pear easily they are done. You still want to have some bite to the pear so don’t make them mushy. Take them out and place them on the serving plate. Add Port wine to the liquid and boil uncovered on medium-low heat for 40 minutes until the liquid becomes thick and syrupy. Pour the still hot syrup on the pears and then let it cool off.

Bom apetite! or Saúde! ? 🙂