Poached Seckel Pears With Clove Granite Recipes

MULLED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the wine, 5 ounces of the honey, the cloves, chiles, cinnamon, star anise and vanilla seeds, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pears. Submerge the pears fully by placing a plate small enough to fit in the pan, over the pears. Cook until tender, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Refrigerate the pears in the cooking liquid until cool, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining 5 tablespoons honey, the cream cheese and lemon zest in a bowl, and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
• Place 1 ounce of the cream cheese mixture on each plate, then top each with 2 pieces of pear, and sprinkle almonds over the top to serve.

POACHED PEARS IN HONEY, GINGER AND CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, Simple Syrup, cinnamon stick halves, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean and seeds to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.
• Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick halves and the vanilla bean and discard.
• Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

POACHED SECKEL PEARS WITH CLOVE GRANITE

Steps:

• For the granite, combine the water, cloves and light-brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Remove the cloves and stir in the vinegar. Pour into a shallow metal pan and place in the freezer. Freeze until firm but not frozen solid, about 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.
• For the pears, combine the wine, cloves, honey and nutmeg in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the lemon and orange slices and the pears. Cover and simmer until the pears are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pears and fruit slices with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Raise the heat and simmer the poaching liquid until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Coat 4 plates with the poaching liquid and place 3 pears in the center of each plate. Arrange the orange and lemon slices around the pears and place a scoop of the granite beside them. Serve immediately.

POACHED FRUIT WITH CLOVE GRANITE AND COOKIES

Steps:

• To poach the fruit, combine the wine, sugar and cloves in a large wide pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and add the pears and figs. Simmer until pears are soft but not falling apart, about 15 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, use a paring knife to remove all peel and pith from the oranges. Cut the sections out from between the membranes. Add the sections and simmer 1 minute. Remove the fruit from the liquid with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and let cool. Cover and refrigerate.
• Let the syrup stand until cool and strain into a shallow, nonreactive pan. Place in the freezer until firm throughout, stirring from time to time. (The granite can be made a day ahead.)
• To make the cookies, pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the flour, salt and sugar and process until nuts are ground and mixture is well mixed. Add the butter and pulse to combine. Add the egg and milk and process just until the dough begins to come together.
• Press the dough together and divide it in half. Shape into cylinders, about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. If the dough is very cold, let stand at room temperature until firm but not too hard. Cut the dough across into 1/8-inch slices and place on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. (Cookies must be baked in batches.) Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool.
• Melt the chocolate and dip half of each cookie in the chocolate. Set aside and let dry completely.
• To serve, arrange the pears, figs and oranges in 10 shallow bowls. Use a spoon to scrape the granite into mounds and place a mound in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing the cookies separately.

ROASTED SECKEL PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl; combine the balsamic, butter, lemon juice and zest, sugar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Stir together well.
• Add the pears and gently toss to coat them.
• Arrange the pears on a nonstick baking sheet in a single layer without crowding.
• Roast until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

POACHED SECKEL PEAR WITH POMEGRANATE, CABRALES CHEESE, AND SZECHUAN PEPPER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Szechuan Pepper Ice Cream
• 1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and peppercorns and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and allow to infuse for 20 minutes.
• 2. Strain the milk mixture and return it to the saucepan. Reheat until the mixture just begins to boil. Remove from the heat.
• 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar vigorously until pale. Whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks, then return this mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon and reaches 175°F (79°C) on an instant-read thermometer; do not let the mixture boil, or the egg yolks will curdle. Remove the pot from the heat. Pass the ice cream base through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Set the bowl in an ice bath and stir frequently until cold. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the ice cream base for at least 4 hours.
• 4. Process the base in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions (be careful not to overchurn the ice cream or it will become grainy). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
• Poached Pears with Pomegranate
• 1. In a medium saucepan, bring the pomegranate juice and black pepper to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pears and reduce the heat to medium-low. Poach the pears in the simmering juice until tender, about 15 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature.
• 2. Transfer the pears, still in the liquid, to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Pomegranate Sauce
• Pour the poaching liquid in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil the liquid until it has reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Pass the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and cool.
• Baked Almond Diamonds
• 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy and well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the almond flour and mix until blended. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour and mix until blended. Scrape the almond mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing it into an even layer. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
• 3. Using a 2-inch-long by 1-inch-wide diamond-shaped pastry cutter, cut out 8 diamonds of baked almond cream. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
• Assembly
• Cut each Poached Pear with Pomegranate in half crosswise and remove the cores from the bottom halves. Place each pear bottom standing up on a plate and top with a slice of Cabrales cheese. Replace the pear tops. Glaze the pears with some of the Pomegranate Sauce, letting some of the sauce drip onto the plates. Place a Baked Almond Diamond on each plate and top with a scoop of Szechuan Pepper Ice Cream.

CHAI-POACHED PEARS WITH SPICY ORANGE SAUCE AND HOMEMADE GRANOLA

Steps:

• Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, honey, juice and zest of 1 orange, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili flakes, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat for the sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and bring sauce to a very low simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine 3/4 cup walnuts, 3/4 cup pecans, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground, 15 to 20 seconds.
• Heat a skillet over to medium-high heat and melt coconut oil. Chop remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and pecans. Add chopped nuts and oats to the hot oil. Toast, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add ground nut mixture and mix until combined. Allow to toast until sugar begins to melt, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in honey and vanilla extract. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the skillet, mixing a couple times as it cools.
• Bring water to a boil in a large pot, add tea bags, remove from heat, cover, and brew tea for 8 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard. Stir 1/4 cup brown sugar into chai.
• Bring tea/water to a boil again over high heat, add pears, reduce heat, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Gently rotate pears with a spoon (pears will be soft - you don't want to puncture the skin) and continue to simmer another 15 minutes. For a stronger spice flavor, leave pears soaking in the chai for an additional 10 to 15 minutes with the heat off.
• To serve, place a heaping spoonful of coconut yogurt into the hole of the pear. Top with granola and drizzle with orange sauce. Garnish with orange zest.

PORT-AND-SPICE POACHED PEARS WITH GRANITA

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact. Cut a round of parchment paper to fit inside a wide 4-quart heavy pot.
• Bring grape juice, Port, sugar, spices, and 1 cup water to a boil in pot over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add pears, arranging them on their sides in 1 layer (pears will not be covered by liquid). Cover pears directly with round of parchment. Reduce heat to low and poach pears, turning occasionally, until just tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let pears steep in liquid, covered with parchment, turning occasionally, at least 2 hours and up to 3.
• Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a shallow dish, reserving poaching liquid. Let pears stand at room temperature or chill, covered with parchment.
• Pour poaching liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard spices) and return to pot. Boil, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup water. Pour liquid into an 8- to 9-inch square baking pan (not nonstick).
• Freeze liquid 1 1/2 hours, then scrape and stir with a fork, crushing any lumps. Repeat, scraping every hour until evenly frozen, about 4 hours more.
• Bring chilled pears to room temperature before serving, about 30 minutes.
• Cut a thin slice from bottom of each pear, then stand pears upright on chilled plates. Scrape granita, then serve pears with granita and créme fraîche.