Pears in red wine

I just love fruit for dessert, and in winter this is one of my favourites.  It always looks impressive and is so easy to make.  Even though my husband hates cooked fruit, he loves the syrup over ice cream.  You can also try using white wine or even muscadel or port, but then reduce the sugar quantity, else it will be too sweet. 

6 firm pears

1 bottle fruity red wine

100 ml honey

100 g brown sugar

half a vanilla pod, split open

3 pieces of cassia

1 star anise

Peal the pears, leaving the stalks intact. Slice a thin piece from the bottom of each pear to make them stand up. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the pears and simmer until tender. They do not need to stand up while cooking and do not need to be completely covered, rather make sure that you turn then once in a while so that all the sides obtain the same colour.  It will take around 20 - 30 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the pears.  Remove the pears.  Now, turn up the heat and cook the sauce until syrupy.  Add syrup to the pears and cool.  Serve with ice cream or cream.