Poires Melba

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart saucepan with lid
• •Parchment paper cut into a cartouche
• •Melon baller or small teaspoon
• •Blender or food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Four chilled dessert coupes or one deep serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the vanilla syrup

   Put the water and sugar in a snug saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape its seeds into the pan, and add the pod. Warm over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar has completely dissolved, then bring the syrup to a bare simmer. If crystals gather around the rim, cover the pan for one minute so condensation washes them down. If the syrup does crystallize, add ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) water from the measured syrup and warm gently until clear again. Ça se rattrape.

   Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring. Agitation can seed crystallization, while a quiet simmer keeps the syrup clear.
2. 2

   Poach the pears

   Peel the pears, halve them through the stems, and remove each core neatly with a melon baller or teaspoon. Slip the halves into the simmering syrup and cover them directly with a parchment cartouche so their exposed surfaces stay wet. Hold the syrup at the faintest tremble for 15 to 25 minutes, turning the pears once, until a small knife enters the thickest part with slight resistance. Lift each half as it becomes ready rather than making the tender ones wait for the stubborn ones.

   If a cooled pear remains firm, return only that half to simmering syrup for 3 to 5 minutes. If one goes too soft, chill it flat and tuck it beneath the ice cream at assembly; its flavor is still right, and the sound halves can keep their shape above.
3. 3

   Cool pears in syrup

   Take the pan off the heat and leave the pears in their syrup for 30 minutes so the vanilla reaches the fruit without further hard cooking. Transfer the pears and enough syrup to cover them into a shallow container, then chill for at least 2 hours. Drain the cold pears well before serving, reserving a little syrup to adjust the raspberry purée. A wet pear melts the ice beneath it, so blot the cut surface lightly if syrup still clings.

4. 4

   Make the raw purée

   Blend the raspberries until completely liquid, then pass them through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing with the back of a ladle until only dry seeds remain. Keep the purée raw. That fresh acidity is what prevents the dessert from tasting merely sweet. If it is too thick to flow, loosen it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of cold pear syrup; if thawed berries have made it watery, let the purée drain in the sieve for 5 minutes. Don't cook it to thicken it, because the rawness is the dish.

5. 5

   Ready the cold elements

   Chill four dessert coupes or one deep serving bowl. Let the vanilla ice cream stand just long enough to scoop cleanly, about 5 minutes, while keeping the pears and purée cold. If the ice cream begins to slump or shine heavily at the edges, return it to the freezer for 10 minutes. The assembly waits for the ice cream, never the other way round.

6. 6

   Assemble Poires Melba

   Use the canonical order of Pêches Melba (No. 2699): place ½ cup (120 ml / about 100 g) vanilla ice cream in each chilled coupe, arrange two drained pear halves over it, and coat generously with the raw raspberry purée. Serve immediately, while the ice cream is firm, the pear is cold and yielding, and the purée remains vividly itself. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose pears that smell fragrant at the stem but still feel firm around the middle. A fully soft pear is ready for eating, not poaching; it will surrender its shape before the vanilla reaches its center.
• •Out of raspberry season, use frozen fruit picked ripe and thaw it in the refrigerator. A good frozen raspberry makes a finer raw purée than a pale fresh berry that has traveled too far.
• •Buy a dense vanilla ice cream made with cream and real vanilla. This is one of only three components on the plate, so a thin, airy ice cream leaves nowhere for the pear to rest.
• •The raspberry purée must be sieved. Seeds interrupt the silk of the ice cream and pear, while cooking the sauce sacrifices the fresh edge that defines Melba.
• •For a celebration, pour demi-sec Champagne. Its soft sweetness sits comfortably beside vanilla, while its acidity keeps the final spoonful lively.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach the pears up to 2 days ahead and keep them covered in their vanilla syrup in the refrigerator. Drain them only when the dessert is ready to assemble.
• •Make the raw raspberry purée up to 6 hours ahead, cover it closely, and keep it cold. Stir gently before serving, without whipping air into it.
• •Chill the serving coupes for at least 30 minutes. Assemble only at the table's last moment, because melted ice cream cannot be repaired once fruit and purée are on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 330g)