Poires à la Condé

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp paring knife or bird's-beak knife
• •3-quart (2.8-litre) nonreactive saucepan
• •Parchment paper for a cartouche
• •Slotted spoon
• •9-inch (23 cm) border mould or small palette knife
• •12-inch (30 cm) round serving dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Turn pears evenly

   Peel the very small pears while keeping their stems intact. Tourner means trimming the peeled fruit into a clean, even oval: use a sharp paring knife to smooth each pear from stem to base, removing only enough flesh to make every pear nearly the same thickness. Cut out the dry blossom end with the knife tip. If your pears are medium-sized, follow the source entry plainly: halve them lengthwise, peel them, and remove the cores instead of trying to poach them whole.

   Set the finished pears side by side before making the syrup. If one has a noticeably thick base or thin shoulder, correct it now; even turning is what lets the whole batch finish together.
2. 2

   Build vanilla syrup

   Combine the water and sugar in a snug, nonreactive saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape its seeds into the pan, and add the pod. Bring the syrup just to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. The pan should hold the pears closely enough that the syrup covers them; a broad pot wastes syrup and lets the fruit float.

3. 3

   Poach at tremble

   Lower the pears into the syrup and cover them directly with a parchment cartouche so every surface remains wet. Hold the syrup at the faintest tremble, never a rolling boil. Turn whole pears gently every 3 to 4 minutes and begin testing after 15 minutes; small pears usually need 15 to 25 minutes, while medium halves may need only 10 to 15. They are ready when a thin skewer enters with slight resistance, since they soften further while cooling. If one pear becomes tender before the others, lift it out and return it only when the syrup has cooled. If a pear starts to split, stop turning it and lift it with a slotted spoon; ça se rattrape, place the damaged side toward the centre when you assemble the border.

4. 4

   Cool in syrup

   Remove the pan from the heat while the pears are still holding their shape. Set the saucepan in a basin of cold water, leave the cartouche against the fruit, and let the pears cool in their syrup for about 45 minutes. This arrests the cooking without sacrificing the vanilla flavour. Once cool, chill them for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain them on a rack or clean cloth for 5 minutes before assembly.

5. 5

   Set Condé border

   Set the prepared vanilla-flavoured sweet-rice border from Apricots à la Condé (No. 2551) on its round serving dish, with the referenced candied fruit and Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup ready beside it. If a moulded border refuses to release, wrap the outside briefly with a warm cloth and lift straight upward. Do not force a knife down the sides, which tears the rice and spoils its clean ring.

6. 6

   Arrange and glaze

   Stand the whole pears evenly around the rice border; if necessary, shave a whisper-thin slice from a pear's base so it sits upright. Arrange medium pear halves cut-side down. Place the candied fruit between the pears, then spoon over the Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup until the fruit gleams and a little glaze settles against the rice. If the syrup runs off like water, reduce it briefly and cool it before glazing. If it has tightened too far, loosen it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the reserved pear syrup. Never pour it on hot, because heat loosens the rice border.

7. 7

   Rest then serve

   Chill the assembled dessert for 20 minutes so the border settles and the glaze holds. Take it from the cold about 10 minutes before serving; the vanilla and Kirsch speak more clearly when the dessert is cool rather than icy. Cut through the rice border and serve each guest two small pears or two pear halves with their share of candied fruit and glaze. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Seckel and other very small, firm pears are admirably suited to the dish. Choose fruit that yields only slightly at the neck; a fully soft pear cannot survive turning and poaching intact.
• •If only medium pears are available, halve them as the source directs. Do not insist on a grand display of whole fruit when the pears are too large to cook evenly; technique first, always.
• •Fresh pears matter here. Canned halves are already too tender to take the controlled vanilla poach, and their uniform softness changes the character of the entremets.
• •The Apricots à la Condé (No. 2551) preparation is a separate canonical component, not an invitation to rebuild its sweet rice and finishing syrup inside this entry. Prepare that linked component first, omit its apricots, and let these pears take their proper place.
• •Strain and chill the remaining vanilla pear syrup. It keeps for several days and can poach another batch of fruit, sweeten a compote, or moisten a plain sponge.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Apricots à la Condé (No. 2551) component through its rice border, candied fruit, and finishing syrup up to one day ahead, omitting its apricots because the pears replace them here. The recipe times begin with that referenced component ready.
• •The pears may be poached one day ahead. Keep them covered in their vanilla syrup in the cold, then drain them thoroughly before assembly.
• •Assemble the complete dessert up to 6 hours before serving. Cover it without touching the glaze, keep it cold, and let it stand for 10 minutes before bringing it to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)