Pears in red wine

Pears are definitely in season. I’m on a low sugar run to get me through to December when I’m looking forward to indulging in all the festive fare, so here’s a lower sugar dessert for grown-ups.

Serves four

1 bottle red wine 2 tbsp of honey 1 vanilla pod 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 4 firm pears, peeled but stalk left on

1 Simmer the wine, honey and spices for about 20 minutes until the flavours infuse, remove the spices.

2 Peel the pears but leave the stalks on and place standing up in the pan with the wine. You need the pan to be deep so the pears are covered with the wine. Simmer for a further 15 minutes. Remove the pears but continue simmering the wine until it thickens to a syrup.

3 Pour the syrup over the pears and allow to cool. Delicious served with some crème fraîche or natural yogurt.