Catalan pears in red wine and cinnamon

Peel the pears, leaving the stalks and arrange in a heavy saucepan large enough to hold them upright comfortably.
Pour in the wine and remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat, cover loosely and leave to poach very gently for 40 minutes, until perfectly tender but not mushy.
Now and again ladle over some syrup.
Remove pears and set them in the dish you wish to serve them in.
Turn the heat up and boil liquid fercely to reduce till it’s half its volume and a shiny syrup.
Strain the syrup over the pears and serve with ice cream.

Cook’s notes:
Be careful how you handle the pears, as they bruise easily.
Keep them in the syrup for as long as you can, so they turn a rich, deep pink.