Panna Colada with Poached Pears and Red Wine Syrup
Decadently creamy, yet vegan AND paleo Panna Cotta with Poached Pears and a Red Wine Syrup. The perfect dessert for Christmas or New Years. Seriously.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
| Poached Pear Things |
- 1 1/2 cups Red Wine
- 1 1/2 cups Water
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 Bosc pears, peeled and cored
- 1/2 cup Sugar or 1/3 cup Agave syrup (for the Paleo-er version)
- Optional: 1/8 tsp Agar Agar powder
| Panna Colada Things |
- 3 cups full-fat Coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp Agar Agar Powder OR 2 1/2 tsp Gelatin Powder
- 3 tbsp Agave syrup
- 2 tsp Vanilla Paste OR Vanilla Extract
- 2 pinches Coarse Salt
Instructions
| Poaching the Pears |
- Pour your wine and water into a medium-small thick-bottomed pot. Place pot over medium-low heat, and add your cinnamon stick.
- While you wait for your wine to come to a simmer, peel and core your pears.
- Add pears to your simmering wine, and poach for 20 mins, I tend to lay them on their side in the pot, and roll them every 5 minutes or so to make sure that the pears take on an even colour (and poach evenly, of course).
- When poached, remove pears and place them on a paper-towel covered plate to cool.
- Add your sugar/agave syrup to the wine, and reduce until about 1/4 cup of wine remains. IF you’re using agave syrup instead of sugar, add the Agar Agar powder as well. Still until the agar agar dissolves.
- Set red wine syrup aside in a tupperware or covered bowl to cool. The red wine syrup can be left out or put in the fridge until you serve your panna coladas.
| Panna Colada |
- Pour about half of your coconut milk in a medium thick-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Sprinkle the agar agar/gelatin powder in a light layer across the surface of the milk, and stir with a fork. The goal is to form as few clumps as possible.
- Add the rest of your coconut milk, agave syrup, vanilla paste/extract, and salt.
- Heat until your colada mixture comes to a low boil, making sure to stir consistently and avoid clumps.
- Arrange your pears in individual serving cups/bowls. Pour your colada mixture into each cup, making sure to divide it evenly between them.
- Allow your panna coladas to cool for about 20 minutes before putting them in the fridge for 4 hours or over night.
- Drizzle your red wine syrup over the panna coladas just prior to serving.
Notes
| Cooking Notes |
- Red wine: Number 1 rule when selecting a wine to cook/bake with. ONLY pick a wine you’re also willing to drink on its own. A) Why cook with something that’s too putrid to drink? It will just make whatever you’re cooking putrid as well. B) This recipe only uses half a bottle of wine. This means wine in the kitch’ guys. Cooking is SO much more fun with a glass of wine in one hand!
- Sugar vs Agave syrup for the spiced wine reduction. If you want an actual syrup and don’t care about the recipe being Paleo, use sugar for the red wine reduction. If you want to make the recipe more Paleo, go with the agave syrup and agar agar powder combination. You won’t get a syrup per se. It will be closer to a jelly. But it will still be delicious!
- Agar agar vs gelatin for the Panna Colada. I actually prefer the texture of the Panna Colada with the agar agar powder, but if you’re not a vegan AND can’t find it, or happen to already have gelatin in your cupboard, using gelatin works too. Those of you who want to give Agar agar a try, you can usually find it in a health food store like Aliments Merci at Jean Talon Market.
| Alternative Serving Option |
- If you don’t have small bowls to put the pears in, you can also cut the pears in half lengthwise before poaching them, and then arrange them, flat side down, in a ceramic pie dish or serving dish of some sort. This is what I do when I’m making it for myself. Fewer dishes to wash and put away.