Poached Seckel Pear With Pomegranate Cabrales Cheese And Szechuan Pepper Ice Cream Food

WINE POACHED SECKEL PEARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, whisk together Merlot (reserving 2 cups), star anise, cinnamon stick, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
• Add pears and remaining 2 cups of Merlot. Allow pears to cook in the wine and flavorings, simmering at a low boil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together mascarpone, sugar, and cream. Add fresh mint, if desired.
• Place a dollop of mascarpone cheese onto each plate. Top with 1 or 2 pears and serve.

CABRALES STUFFED POACHED PEARS: PERAS CABRALES

Steps:

• Peel pears and remove the core from the bottom using a melon baller, keeping the stem end intact. Scrub the pears with a new abrasive plastic scrubbing pad to remove any rough edges or textures left from the knife. Set the pears aside.
• In a large stockpot, combine the tardio, red wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves and bring to a boil. Add the pears and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the pears and reduce the remaining liquid by half, about 45 minutes.
• In a food processor, puree the cabrales and toasted walnuts, and set aside. Place the mixture in a pastry bag and stuff the pears with walnut and cabrales mixture.
• Serve with the reduced poaching liquid.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.