Poires à l’Impératrice

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 3-quart saucepan for poaching
• •Two small heavy-bottomed saucepans
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Shallow 2-quart broiler-safe gratin dish
• •Wire rack for draining the pears

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim the pears

   Scrape the vanilla seeds into a small covered dish and reserve them for the rice. Put the vanilla pod, water, and sugar into a wide saucepan, bring them slowly to a simmer, and stir only until the sugar dissolves. Peel and quarter the pears, remove the cores and the hard fibres running toward the stems, then round off any ragged edges. Proper trimming is not decoration here; evenly shaped quarters poach at the same rate.

2. 2

   Poach and drain

   Lower the pear quarters into the vanilla syrup and cover the surface with a round of baking paper so they remain submerged. Poach at the gentlest tremble for 8 to 14 minutes, turning once, until a small knife enters with slight resistance. Lift each quarter as it becomes ready. If one softens too far, don't discard it; chill it promptly and place it in the centre of the dish, where the rice will support it. Ça se rattrape. Drain the pears cut-side down on a rack for at least 15 minutes, then blot any remaining syrup from their surfaces.

3. 3

   Cook the vanilla rice

   Cover the rice with cold water in a small saucepan, bring it to a boil, and blanch it for 2 minutes. Drain well. Return it to the pan with the 2 cups of milk, reserved vanilla seeds, sugar, and salt, then cook at a bare simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring more frequently as it thickens. The grains should be completely tender and the mixture thick enough to retain a spoon track. If the milk catches, don't scrape the scorched floor; transfer the clean rice above it to another pan and continue gently. Remove from the heat, temper the egg yolk with a spoonful of hot rice, stir it back in, and finish with the butter.

4. 4

   Make the frangipane

   Warm the ½ cup of milk until small bubbles gather at its edge. Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar and flour until smooth, then add the hot milk gradually while whisking. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over gentle heat, whisking constantly, until the cream boils and holds a broad ribbon. Cook for 1 minute more, then remove it from the heat and beat in the ground almonds and butter. If the cream forms lumps, scrape it immediately into a clean bowl and press it through a fine sieve while warm; it will smooth again.

5. 5

   Layer the entremets

   Fold the warm crème frangipane into the vanilla rice until evenly combined. If the mixture spreads like a sauce, let it stand for 10 minutes; if it remains loose, return it to gentle heat and stir until a spoon leaves a clear path across the pan. Brush a shallow 2-quart broiler-safe gratin dish with about 1 teaspoon of the melted butter. Spread in half the rice, arrange the drained pear quarters snugly in a single layer, and cover them completely with the remaining rice. Smooth the surface without compressing it.

6. 6

   Form the gratin

   Preheat the broiler thoroughly and set an oven rack about 6 inches beneath it. Finish with Gratins (No. 268): scatter the crushed almond macaroons evenly over the upper rice layer, then spoon the remaining melted butter across the crumbs. The butter is what browns the gratin, so leave no dry islands. Broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching without interruption, until the surface is deeply golden with darker hazelnut patches and butter bubbles around the rim. If one patch colours too quickly, pull the dish out, shield that spot with a small piece of foil, and continue. Rest for 10 minutes, then serve generous spoonfuls that reach through both rice layers and the pears. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose pears that smell fragrant at the stem but still feel firm around the middle. A fully soft pear turns to compote in the syrup; a hard green one remains chalky after the rice is ready.
• •The macaroons must be plain almond biscuits, not coconut macaroons and not filled sandwich macarons. Their dry almond crumb absorbs the melted butter and forms the proper gratin.
• •Keep the pear syrup. Strain it, chill it, and use it to poach another batch of fruit or reduce it gently for drinks; it keeps for a week in the cold or several months frozen.
• •Serve the gratin warm rather than scorching. Ten minutes of rest lets the rice settle around the pears while the buttered crust remains crisp under the spoon.
• •A demi-sec Vouvray has enough freshness for the pears and enough sweetness for the almond cream. Coffee works beautifully too, and asks for less ceremony.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach and drain the pears up to a day ahead, then chill them covered. The vanilla rice and crème frangipane may also be cooked a day ahead and kept separately in the cold.
• •The dish can be layered up to 6 hours before serving. If chilled, let it stand for 30 minutes, warm it in a 325°F (165°C) oven until the centre is hot, then add the macaroon crumbs and melted butter immediately before forming the gratin.
• •Leftovers keep for 2 days in the cold. Rewarm them gently in a low oven; the topping will soften, but the pears and almond rice remain excellent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)