Pears in red wine with blackcurrant

In a pan, pour 750 ml red wine, 250 ml blackcurrant liqueur and 100 g caster sugar.

For each pears, one by one: peel, cut in two, remove core and if necessary fiber around tail.

Put immediately the half in syrup to prevent from blackening.

Proceed so with all pears.

Put pan on low fire, add 1 vanilla pod, and make cook pears uncovered until they are well soft.

Let cool in the syrup, covered this time, if possible during all night.

Tomorrow, remove pears from syrup, put in another container, and covered by a half of syrup.

Cover and let wait at ambient temperature.

Put back pan on low fire, and make reduce a half volume.

When syrup is reduced, pour through a fine strainer, in a smaller pan.

Bring to boil and add 2 pinches agar-agar, mix well with a fork, and remove from fire.

Let thicken when cooling.

A bit before serving, cut half pears from top to bottom in several thin parts.

The goal is not to cut half-part, but to make a kind of hand-held fan, you should start from top but leaving about half inch uncut.

Put a half pear by service plate, and spread cuts to shape the hand-held fan.

Fill one plate side with custard sauce (crème anglaise) and the other one with cooking syrup.

Decorate with a mint leaf.