Caramelised Pear Napoleons with Vanilla Anise Sauce
and Pear Coulis

 
This fabulous dish comes to us from Australia, from Chef Michael Read, via the Chefs' Mailing List:

Vanilla Anise Syrup

Pastry Cream

Caramelised Pears

Pear Coulis

Caramelised Puff Pastry

1. Prepare the vanilla anise syrup: with the side of a knife, flatten the vanilla pod, cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the aid of a small spoon. Place the seeds in a small bowl, and set aside. (The pod itself made be used to make vanilla sugar.) In a large saucepan over a high heat, bring 325ml (11 fl oz) water and the sugar to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the star anise and vanilla seeds, and cover. Set aside to infuse for 20 minutes. ( Do not let infuse longer or the syrup will taste "woody".) Strain the syrup, discarding the vanilla seeds and the star anise. Set aside.

2. Prepare the pastry cream: remove the seeds from the vanilla pod as described in step 1. Rinse a medium sized saucepan with cold water (to prevent the milk from sticking to it when cooked). In the saucepan, combine the milk and the vanilla seeds and bring to a boil over a high heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and lemon coloured. Whisk in the flour and the cornflour just to combine (overmixing encourages development of the gluten in the flour). As soon as the milk boils, pour one third of it into the egg yolk mixture and whisk to blend thoroughly. Return the saucepan to a high heat and whisk in the egg yolk and milk mixture. Whisk constantly until the mixture just begins to boil, about one minute. The pastry cream will be thick and spreadable. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the pastry to a bowl. Cover with cling film, placing it directly on top of the cream, to prevent a film from forming.

3. Caramelise the pears: in a large pan heat the clarified butter over a high heat until hot and sizzling. Reduce the heat to moderately high, add the pears and saute until evenly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with 100ml (4 fl oz) of the reserved vanilla-anise and continue cooking, stirring until the liquid is thick and almost caramelized, constantly spooning the juice up and over the pears to moisten and flavour them. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. (The pears may be prepared one day in advance. Store in the refrigerator, in a sealed container. Bring to room temperature to serve.) Prepare the pear coulis: remove the seeds from the vanilla pod as described in step 1. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the pears and lemon juice. Cover with 250ml (8 fl oz) of the reserved vanilla-anise syrup and bring to a boil over a high heat. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the pears are very soft, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla seeds and stir to blend. Transfer to a food processor and purée. Stir in the Poire Williams and set aside. (The pear coulis may be prepared 1 day in advance. Store in the refrigerator, in a sealed. Bring to room temperature to serve.)

5. Prepare the caramelised puff pastry: divide the dough into 2 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, carefully roll out each portion of dough as thin as possible, forming a 12 * 51cm (5 * 20-inch) rectangle. Using a long serrated knife, cut each rectangle in half crosswise, to form two 12.5 * 25cm (5 * 10-inch) rectangles. Continue with the remaining portion of the dough until you have 4 rectangles. Dust off any excess flour. Neatly trim each rectangle. Place the side by side on 2 large baking sheets. Generously prick the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas Mark 7.

7. Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator. Cover each sheet with another baking sheet, to weigh them down so the dough doesn't puff up too much. Place in the centre and immediately reduce to 205°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Bake just until the pastry begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. (Baking time will vary from oven to oven.) Remove the top baking sheets and bake, uncovered, until evenly golden brown, about 5 minutes more. 8. Remove the pastry from the oven and, while it is still hot, quarter each rectangle, trimming to approximately 5 x 10cm (2 x 4 inches), for a total of 16 rectangles. Dust each pastry evenly and generously with powdered (icing) sugar (this is best done by sifting the sugar over the pastry). Heat the grill and place the dusted pastry beneath it until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Watch carefully so the sugar does not burn. (The pastry may be baked several hours in advance. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.)

9. Assemble the individual pastries on each dessert plate, arrange one pastry rectangle, caramelized side up. Spread a spoonful of pastry on each rectangle. Arrange a caramelised pear quarter in the centre and cover with another pastry rectangle, carmelised side up. Dust the top of the pastry with icing sugar. Spoon pear coulis all around. Garnish with several mint leaves and serve immediately.

YIELD: Serves 8

 

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Chuck Taggart   email chuck (at) gumbopages (dot) com