Pears in Red Wine

A jar of pears in red wine in your store cupboard is a great standby when unexpected guests arrive.

Makes 1 x 1 litre jar of preserved pears in red wine

• 9 medium-sized pears
• 1½ bottles red wine
• 165 g (205 ml) sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise seeds
• zest of 2 lemons, cut into long, thin strips

Peel the pears but keep the stems intact. Cover the pears with lightly salted water. Bring red wine, sugar, cinnamon, star anise and zest to the boil in a large saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Put whole pears in the red wine mixture, cover and cook for 25 minutes or until soft. Turn pears occasionally while cooking. Pack pears into a sterilized jar along with cinnamon sticks, star anise and lemon zest strips. Fill jar with red wine syrup and close tightly. Set aside to cool before storing in the fridge for a week.