Red-Wine Roasted Pears With Cardamom Crumble
Updated Oct. 24, 2025
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups dry red wine
- 3 to 4tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2sprigs lemon thyme, rosemary or tarragon
- 1(2-inch) cinnamon stick
- 1star anise pod or 2 whole cloves
- Tiny pinch of salt
- 1½ pounds firm but not rock-hard pears (4 to 5 large pears), peeled, quartered lengthwise and cored
- 1¼cups/157 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼cup/25 grams rolled oats
- ½cup/100 grams light brown sugar
- 1teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Crème fraîche, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and chopped pistachios
For the Pears
For the Cardamom Crumble
For Serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Place 2 racks in the oven, one in the upper third and one in the lower third. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the wine, 3 tablespoons sugar, the herbs, cinnamon, star anise and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, letting the wine reduce by about a quarter, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the pears to the pan, cut side up. Cover pan with the lid or foil. Place on the lower oven rack and roast for 30 minutes. Remove lid or foil and flip the pears. Roast uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes, basting with the wine occasionally, until the pears are tender and easy to pierce with a fork. The firmer the pears were to start with, the longer they will take to cook through.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, make the cardamom crumble: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, cardamom and salt. Stir in butter. Using your hands, squish mixture until coarse crumbs form. Some should be about ¾ inch in size, some smaller.
- Step 4
Spread topping in one even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. (You don’t have to grease it first, but you can line it with parchment for easier clean up if you like.) Bake on the upper oven rack until crumbs are golden brown at the edges, 10 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.
- Step 5
When the pears are tender, transfer them to a plate and taste the wine in the pan. If it’s thin and tart, add another tablespoon of sugar, set the skillet over medium heat and simmer until the wine is reduced and syrupy, 2 to 5 minutes.
- Step 6
To serve, use a whisk to lightly beat the crème fraîche to loosen and smooth it. Divide pears among serving dishes and top with dollops of crème fraîche, a sprinkling of crumble and pistachios and a drizzle of red wine syrup. You can serve the pears warm or at room temperature.
Private Notes
Comments
In the accompanying article, Melissa writes of her friend Bernard, who was so instrumental in her career, but not what became of him.
I always use Bosc - interesting that they don't specify here.
I have often served this forgotten dessert. Equally delish baked in cava, with a lighter spice note such as a touch of saffron, or brandy soaked raisins or cherries. Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yum.
Top with whipped Roquefort. A great surprise!
I've made a couple of similar desserts from Ottolenghi cookbooks, so I was excited to try this take on cooked/roasted fruit + something creamy + something crunchy/crumbly on top. For whatever reason, this recipe didn't rock my world :-(. The red wine poaching looks gorgeous, but I prefer the taste profile from using white wine and saffron and adding a bit of vanilla at the end. If I made this again, I'd add some nuts to the crisp topping, or maybe use almond flour.
I just cooked this on the stove top in a Dutch oven, since I was short on oven space. And I swapped the crème fraiche with vanilla ice cream. Even with those shortcuts, everyone raved about this. It’s now my new holiday dessert.