25 mins
+ waiting
Poire Belle Hélène (Poached Pears)
Recipe by Graham
Poire Belle Hélène is a delightful and very simple recipe that will impress your guests and have them asking for more. The combination of cold, succulent pears, hot chocolate, ice cream and toasted almonds is one of life's great pleasures!
One of the great joys of this recipe is that it can be prepared well in advance (I cook my pears the day before). It makes life easy when it comes to serving the dessert, because you have only to melt the chocolate.
PLEASE NOTE: This recipe is for use with a pressure cooker.
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Mulligatawny Soup Ingredients for Poire Belle Hélène (Poached Pears)
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How to Cook Poire Belle Hélène (Poached Pears)
- Place a glass-and-a-half or water into your pressure cooker. Split the vanilla pod and scape out the seeds. Add these and the brown sugar, to the pan. Sprinkle in the ginger and cinnamon, and add the cloves.
- Peel the pears and, using a standard peeler, remove the cores, leaving the pears whole. Add six of these pears to the pan. Cut the seventh pear into pieces the size of a dice and add to the pan. Secure the lid and cook for seven minutes from the moment the valve begins to rotate.
- Take out the whole pears and place them upright in a flat dish. Reserve six tablespoons of syrup along with the pear bits. When cooled, place these in a refrigerator to chill (they are served cold).
- Grill the almond flakes in a non-stick pan. Keep turning them and remove from the heat as soon as they begin to turn brown. Set these aside to decorate your dish.
- To serve, melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in the cream and three tablespoons of the reserved liquid. When melted, add the pieces of diced pear and stir them in.
- Place the pears on a plate or in a dish, along with a scoop of ice cream. Pour some chocolate sauce over each pear and sprinkle the roasted almonds to decorate.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
If your pears seem a little ripe when you cook them, reduce the cooking time to six minutes. You can test for 'doneness' with a fork, which should sink easily into the flesh. If they need a little more cooking, you can restart your pressure cooker for another minute.
Few wines sit comfortably with chocolate. We serve red Mas Amiel from the very south of France. It's rich nature enhances the chocolate rather than fight with it.
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