Poached Pear in Caramel

Ingredients

Begin by preparing the ice cream. Put the 250g sugar in a heavy pan over a moderate heat and stir until it begins to melt, then allow it to caramelise and reach a deep amber colour. Off the heat, add the cream and milk carefully; replace the pan on the heat and stir until the caramel has dissolved. Cream the egg yolks and the 55g of sugar together. Pour this over the milk mixture and cook at 90°C, stirring with a spatula. Pass the liquid through a fine sieve or chinois, add the Maldon salt and chill it in a bowl over ice. Turn the mixture into an ice-cream maker and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Now make the caramel syrup in which to poach the pears. Cook half the sugar to the caramel stage, as above. Add the water and cook until dissolved, then add the remaining sugar and bring it to a simmer.

Peel the eight pears but leave the stems attached. Put the pears in a pan with the liquid caramel syrup and split vanilla pod. Cover with greaseproof paper and gently simmer until just tender, then allow to cool. When the pears are cold, slice the top half off, and core out the centres.

While the whole pears are cooling, make the pear coulis and the pistachio tuiles. For the coulis, make a syrup with the sugar, water and vanilla, then add the chopped pears. Simmer until they are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Mix and pass through a very fine sieve or a tamis. Set aside.

For the pistachio tuiles, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Whisk the sugar and egg whites together until the sugar has dissolved. Add the butter and then the flour, whisking them in too, then stir in the chopped pistachio nuts. Put a spoonful of the mix on a silicone baking mat; spread it out until it is just slightly larger in diameter than the cut poached pear. Repeat to give eight tuiles, spacing them about 5cm apart. Bake until just golden. Allow to cool on the mat and keep them in an airtight container if preparing beforehand.

Finally, make the caramel sauce. As for the ice cream, cook the sugar to a caramel. Then add the cream and stir until dissolved.

To serve, place a ring in the centre of each serving plate as a guide and spoon the pear compote on the bottom. Remove the ring. Place the cooked pear on the centre of the compote, and carefully fill the space where the core was with caramel sauce. Cover the pear with a pistachio tuile and place a scoop of ice-cream over it. Drizzle some caramel sauce over, and place the top of the pear on the side.

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