The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook - XI.Recipes: Desserts

XI.Recipes: Desserts

Dessert is probably the course of the meal where vegetarians don’t miss out on much except if you’re a strict vegan which means you can’t have butter, cream, or eggs. Most vegetarians are lacto-ovo vegetarians so cakes, tortes, and ice cream aren’t an issue at all. For those who can’t have these milk- and cream-infused goodies, we’ve prepared a few recipes that are easy to prepare, tasty, and abides by the strictest rules of being a vegetarian.

Red Wine Poached Pears

Ingredients:

Dry red wine                           2 cups

Sugar, white                            1 tablespoon

Orange juice, fresh                  ½ cup

Cinnamon stick                       1 piece

Ripe pears                               1 per person

Wash and peel the pears, leaving the stem intact. Slice off the bottom of the pears so that they can stand on their own.

In a sauce pan, combine all of the ingredients except for the pears and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, reduce to less than a simmer where there you see steam and small bubbles on the bottom of the pan but the liquid isn’t actually simmering.

Place the pears inside the poaching liquid making sure that they are fully covered by the liquid. Allow the pears to cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until it is tender to the touch. When they are done cooking, gently remove the pears from the liquid; use a strainer or a metal spider if you can so as not to bruise them. 

Set the pears aside or let them cool in the chiller if you prefer having them cold.

With the pears removed, turn the heat up to bring the liquid to a simmer and let it reduce to about half the original amount. Add more sugar if necessary; your goal is to get a thick, syrupy liquid that you can serve with the pears as a sauce.

This is an excerpt from the book: The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook