Poached pears with Sichuan pepper and cardamom
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A wonderfully simple dessert which showcases the incredible floral flavour of Sichuan peppercorns, Daniel Galmiche's poached pears are the perfect end to a meal (especially with some madeleines on the side). This recipe along with many others can be found in Daniel's latest book French Countryside Cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns
- 200g of coconut sugar, or light brown sugar (Daniel adds a split vanilla pod to his sugar a few days in advance for extra flavour)
- 1 tsp green cardamom pods , lightly crushed
- 1/2 lime , juiced
- 10 small pears , such as William, Comice or Conference
- 25g of unsalted butter
Method
Toast most of the Sichuan peppercorns for a few minutes in a dry frying pan until fragrant, reserving a few fresh. Lightly crush the toasted peppercorns and add them to a large saucepan with the lightly crushed cardamom pods and the coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp green cardamom pods , lightly crushed
- 200g of coconut sugar, or light brown sugar (Daniel adds a split vanilla pod to his sugar a few days in advance for extra flavour)
Add 800ml of water to the pan and gently bring to the boil. Meanwhile, make a cartouche out of baking paper by cutting a sheet of paper that will fit in the pan with a small hole in the centre
Once the poaching liquid is simmering and the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat
Peel the pears, leaving the stalks on, then place them into the pan with the lime juice. Place the cartouche on top so it is touching the liquid, bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on how ripe your pears are
- 10 small pears , such as William, Comice or Conference
- 1/2 lime , juiced
Once the pears are cooked through, lift them out of the poaching liquid and set aside in a bowl, covered with the cartouche so they don't dry out. Continue to simmer the syrup to thicken and reduce it slightly
Place the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the poached pears and lightly fry them to give them a little colour for around 3-5 minutes
- 25g of unsalted butter
To serve, place 2 whole pears in each dish, then cut the remaining pears in half and place a half in each bowl. Drizzle over some syrup and lightly crush the reserved (non-roasted) Sichuan peppercorns, sprinkling them over the top. Enjoy with madeleines or biscuits of your choice
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Poached pears with Sichuan pepper and cardamom
