Vin Santo, literally meaning “holy wine,” is a sweet dessert wine traditionally produced in Central Italy and some areas of the North using partially dried grapes. This is one of my favorite recipes in Antonio Carluccio‘s book “Italian Feast”. It makes a perfect conclusion to a hearty Umbrian meal of lentil soup followed by torta al testo with sausages and cime di rapa.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pears, ripe but not too soft (e.g. d’Anjou)
- 500 ml (2 cups) Vin Santo or other dessert wine like Malvasia or Passito
- 100 gr (1/2 cup) sugar
- rind of 1 lemon
- 3 cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- optional: 1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese or Greek yogurt per person, mint leaves to decorate
Directions
Peel the pears, so they absorb the wine while cooking, but leave them whole or halved. Place them in a non-reactive saucepan and cover with wine.
Add the sugar, lemon rind and spices and poach on medium-low heatwith the lid on until tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and place them into individual serving bowls.
Simmer the remaining liquid until reduced to a golden syrup and just starting to foam. Pour the syrup over the pears, allow to cool and serve garnished with a dollop of mascarpone, Greek yogurt or over homemade custard if desired. Decorate with fresh mint leaves, if you like.
Strabuone!
The pere al vin santo were sooooo good, Letizia!
Thank you thank you again for the great hospitality, gorgeous food and fun!
Hugs to the 3 of you.
Giulia, your company is a superb inspiration to good cooking. I can’t wait to try all the wonderful recipes you have been so generous to give me!
cool stuff i hope i get to read more updates
thank you!
I came upon this first-rate recipe a couple of days back, subsequently went yesterday morning to shop for the ingredients and made it for the evening meal, extremely scrumptious.
thank you Manuela, I am happy you liked it!