Pears in Beaujolais wine with creme de cassis

Over medium heat, pour the whole bottle of Beaujolais into a pan with the peppercorns and cloves.

Add the cinnamon, orange peel, the split vanilla pod and its seeds, and all the sugar; bring to a gentle boil.

Optionally core the pears, then lower them gently into the syrup one by one.

Reduce the heat to a minimum, cover and simmer gently 15 to 20 minutes, turning the pears halfway if the liquid is short; here 20 minutes in total.

Turn off the heat and lift the pears out gently, without breaking the stems, into a clean cold container so they do not overcook.

Add one or two scoops of the wine to the bottom of the container and pour 20 ml of creme de cassis over the pears.

Remove the orange peel, put the wine back on medium heat and reduce by about a quarter, about 10 minutes, until slightly syrupy and coating the side of the pan.

Cool the syrup until lukewarm, then strain out the vanilla, peppercorns and spices and pour it over the pears.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave 24 hours in the fridge.

Serve cold on a plate with plenty of the syrup and crunchy biscuits.