Recipe Index

Wine-Poached Yali Pears with Syrah Essence, Dark Chocolate Sauce,
and Mascarpone-Fig Ice Gelato

Absolutely delicious, gorgeous, irresistibly sensuous,
the perfect dessert to share with a lover

Ingredients –Serves 6

6 small, firm ripe Yali Chinese pears.

1 bottle Syrah

2 sticks cinnamon

3 cloves

10 black peppercorns

2 slices ginger

¼ tsp. grated nutmeg

4 ounces sugar

6 ounces best quality dark chocolate

½ cup crème fraîche

1 pint Mascarpone Fig Ice Cream –
Available at Here’s The Scoop on Coast Village Road in Montecito.
A good vanilla ice cream is an acceptable substitute

Process

Peel the pears. (The Kuhn-Rikon clear Swiss peeler is the best tool for this.)
Bring the wine, sugar, and spices to a simmer. Do not allow the wine to boil.
Gently simmer the pears in the wine for about 25 minutes, until tender.
Refrigerate in the wine overnight.

30 minutes before serving.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. When melted, turn off the heat and stir in the crème fraîche. Keep warm.
Bring the wine and pears to a gentle simmer. Warm the pears in the wine for 5 minutes.
Remove the pears, keep in a warm place. Strain the wine through a fine sieve to remove the spices. Reduce the wine over high heat, stirring, until only a cup of decadent syrah essence is left.

To plate, place the pear and a scoop of mascarpone-fig gelato on a plate.
Spoon (or use plastic squeeze bottles if you have them) syrah essence and chocolate sauce in arabesques around the fruit and gelato.

Garnish with a chocolate leaf. (Technique below).

Serve immediately.

Chocolate leaves: Easy, showy, and tasty

Wash and pat dry some camellia leaves, or other leathery leaves from a plant that is not poisonous and has not been sprayed by chemicals. Melt some good quality dark chocolate over a double-boiler.

Line a tray with parchment paper.

Brush the underside of each leaf with melted chocolate. Set on tray, chocolate side up. Refrigerate for an hour, until chocolate has hardened.

Gently peel the leaf off the chocolate. Use as garnish on cakes and other desserts.

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