← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 4 firm ripe pears (Conference or Williams), peeled, stalks left on
• 1 l Water
• 200 g Sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 120 g dark chocolate (60–70%), chopped
• 120 ml double cream
• 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds (optional)

Method

1. Bring the water, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to the boil in a pan just big enough for the pears, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the pears, cover with a circle of baking paper to keep them submerged and simmer gently for 20–25 min, until a knife slides easily into the thickest part.
3. Leave the pears to cool in the syrup for 30 min; they will turn translucent and absorb the vanilla.
4. Make the sauce: bring the cream and 3 tbsp of the poaching syrup to a simmer, pour over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir until smooth and glossy.
5. Stand each drained pear in a bowl beside a scoop of ice cream, pour over the warm chocolate sauce and scatter with almonds.

Tips

• Keep the leftover syrup in the fridge for poaching more fruit or sweetening drinks.
• Contains milk; the almonds add tree nuts.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Great British Chefs BBC Good Food La Cuisine de Géraldine