Poached pears in red wine

Put the red wine, water, cinnamon, clove powder and all the sugar in a large pot.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds into the wine, then add the whole bean.

Peel the pears from the stem side toward the core side without breaking the stem; remove any black spots and the core end. Place each pear in the wine as it is done.

Fold parchment paper repeatedly, measure to the centre of the pot, cut a round, snip the tip to make a chimney, and lay it over the pears.

Bring to a boil on high, then turn down to medium and simmer 35 to 40 minutes, turning the pears every 10 minutes.

Test with a knife from the core side; when tender, turn off the heat and let the pears cool at room temperature for about an hour.

Refrigerate the pears in the wine overnight so they keep absorbing flavour and colour.

Lift the cold pears out, trim the bottoms flat, spoon some wine over, and garnish with mint inserted beside the stem.