Medieval Cooking, pt. 4, Peeres in Confyt

This dish was a little bit of extra credit. I've been absolutely loving the medieval theme this month, and doing some additional research. While there is a poached pear recipe in the Feast of Ice and Fire, I first heard about it via an excellent BBC4 documentary called Clarissa and the King's Cookbook.

Watch the three-part documentary on YouTube:

• Clarissa and the King's Cookbook pt. 1
• Clarissa and the King's Cookbook pt. 2
• Clarissa and the King's Cookbook pt. 3

Famous British foodie Clarissa Dickson Wright tackles Peeres in Confyt (pears poached in red wine) in the third segment, working directly from the version of the recipe in the Forme of Cury. To make mine, I boiled the pears, then simmered them in a light syrup of 2 cups merlot, 1/2 cup honey, ginger, cinnamon, and whole cloves.



Bonus: You should have some syrup left over, and you can pour it in small glasses and serve it as a sweet spiced dessert wine with the pears.