Author Notes
I whipped this recipe together for a last minute dinner party. Easy, pretty, tasty and low effort; it makes use of readily-available things and simple techniques. I made a quick, bracingly tart lemon syrup to go with, but it is optional. —Clair Gu
Ingredients
- Poached Pears
-
2 cups
chardonnay
-
1 cup
water
-
1/4 cup
honey
-
3/4 cup
sugar
-
8
dried apricots
-
8
dried figs
-
1
vanilla pod, split
-
2
strips of lemon zest
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
4
firm-fleshed pears
-
1/2 cup
roasted pistachio kernels, finely chopped
- Whipped cream
-
1 pint
heavy cream
-
1/4 cup
honey
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
1/2 teaspoon
lemon zest, ultra-fine
Directions
- Poached Pears
-
Combine all ingredients up to pears in a shallow sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the figs and apricots are soft. Strain them out and set aside. Turn the heat down to low.
-
Neatly peel, halve, and core the pears, removing the top and bottom stems if you prefer. Nestle the pears gently into the poaching liquid and poach at low heat for ~20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork but not falling apart. Gently remove from the poaching liquid and set both pears and poaching liquid aside to cool.
-
Finely dice the reserved apricots and figs and set aside.
- Whipped cream
-
Pour the cream into a medium sized mixing bowl or stand mixer. Whip at high speed until thickened and very creamy, but not yet holding peaks. Fold in other ingredients.
-
On a plate of your choosing, spoon a pool of cream onto each plate. Add a small quenelle of diced dried fruit to the outside edge of the plate—cover with a pear, seed cavity covering the fruit. Spoon 2 tablespoons of poaching liquid over the pear. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve.
See what other Food52ers are saying.