Pine-apple à la Royale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 to 14-inch (30 to 35 cm) clear glass serving bowl or footed compote
• •Narrow saucepan large enough to hold four peaches
• •Flexible paring knife
• •Sturdy tablespoon or melon baller

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the peaches

   Combine the water, sugar, and split vanilla bean in a narrow saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 5 minutes to make a clear vanilla syrup. Score a shallow cross in the base of each peach and lower them into the syrup. Hold them at the barest tremble for 8 to 15 minutes, turning gently, until a fine knife enters with slight resistance. Lift them out, slip away the skins while warm, then return the whole peaches to the syrup and chill for at least 1 hour. If a peach begins to split, remove it at once; the flesh will finish softening as it cools. If one goes a little too far, chill it untouched and place its softer side toward the pineapple when arranging the crown.

2. 2

   Carve the pineapple

   Cut a 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) slice from the top of the pineapple, keeping the leafy crown and its attached flesh intact as a lid. Mark a circle inside the shell, leaving a full 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) wall. Cut down within that line without approaching the bottom, divide the flesh into sections, and lift them out with a spoon or melon baller. Leave the same 1/2-inch thickness across the base. Trim away the hard core and reserve 1 1/2 cups (355 ml / 250 g) of good flesh, cut into even 1/2-inch dice. Chill the empty shell upright with its lid. If the wall splits or the bottom is nicked, ça se rattrape: press a thin slice of pineapple over the damaged place from inside, then stand the shell in a snug glass tumbler concealed within the serving bowl.

   A flexible paring knife loosens the wall, but a spoon should finish the base. Chasing the final scrap with a blade is how the Kirsch reaches the table.
3. 3

   Cut the Macédoine

   Combine the reserved pineapple, diced pear, and halved grapes. Their pieces should be close in size, because Macédoine is an even mixture of fresh fruit, not a heap of unrelated cuts. Fold in 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 70 g) of the Kirsch and chill for 45 minutes, turning the fruit once without crushing it. If the fruit releases enough juice to swim, drain it briefly before filling the shell and reserve the fragrant liquid; spoon back only enough to moisten the fruit.

4. 4

   Macerate the strawberries

   Put the hulled strawberries in a separate shallow bowl and turn them gently with the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of Kirsch. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes, no longer. Keeping them separate protects their shape and prevents their red juice from staining the pale Macédoine. If they soften quickly, drain them at once and hold them cold in a single layer.

5. 5

   Build the fruit crown

   Chill a wide clear glass bowl or footed compote. Drain the Macédoine for 30 seconds, spoon it generously into the pineapple shell, and add no more than 2 tablespoons of its reserved Kirsch liquid. Replace the leafy lid. Set the pineapple upright in the center of the bowl, lift the peaches from their syrup, and arrange them evenly around its base. Place three Kirsch-macerated strawberries between each peach to complete the crown. Serve at once while every fruit is deeply chilled and still holds its shape, giving each guest a peach, strawberries, and a generous spoonful of Macédoine. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a pineapple that feels heavy and smells clearly of fruit at the base, with a green crown sturdy enough to return as the lid. A sour, fibrous pineapple has nowhere to hide here.
• •Montreuil names the celebrated peach-growing place, not a single variety. When those peaches aren't obtainable, choose small peaches that are fragrant but still firm enough to survive poaching whole. This dish truly needs sound fresh fruit; canned or frozen peaches cannot hold the crown.
• •Kirsch means dry cherry eau-de-vie, not sweet cherry liqueur. Its clean cherry perfume should sharpen the fruit without turning the filling syrupy. If alcohol cannot be served, chilled vanilla poaching syrup makes a pleasant fruit cup, but it changes the defining flavor of à la Royale.
• •Fruit shells vary. If a little Macédoine remains after the pineapple is generously filled, serve it separately in a chilled glass rather than forcing it down and flooding the shell.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the peaches up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate them submerged in their vanilla syrup. They become more evenly perfumed as they cool.
• •The pineapple shell and lid can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Keep them wrapped and cold, with the shell standing upright so its juices do not collect against one wall.
• •Macerate the Macédoine about 45 minutes before serving and the strawberries only 15 to 20 minutes before assembly. Build the crown at the last moment so the fruit remains firm and the glass bowl stays clear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 575g)