Pears With Roquefort And Sauternes Syrup Recipes

PEARS WITH ROQUEFORT AND SAUTERNES SYRUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet. Toast the walnuts in the preheated oven, 5-10 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown. Transfer to a plate to cool. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.
• Remove stems from pears. Slice in half and remove core and any fibers with a melon baller. Rub pears all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place each pear (2 halves) in an individual gratin dish.
• Combine the cheese and walnuts. Pack this mixture into the cavity in each pear half. Add 1-2 tbsp Sauternes to each dish. Bake in preheated oven 30-35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and pears are soft.
• Meanwhile, in a small pot, combine 1/2 c Sauternes with sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking until sugar dissolves and syrup is clear. Remove from heat and let cool while pears finish baking. Drizzle syrup over pears before serving.

BAKED PEARS WITH SAUTERNES CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom using a melon-ball cutter or a sharp small knife. Stir together raisins, brown sugar, zests, and 2 tablespoons Sauternes and fill pear cavities with mixture. Stand pears upright in a buttered baking dish just large enough to hold them and pour remaining cup Sauternes over pears.
• Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in middle of oven until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a serving dish or plates using a metal spatula to hold filling in place and pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.
• Whisk together yolks and granulated sugar in a large metal bowl and add hot cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Put bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and vigorously whisk, or beat with a handheld electric mixer, until mixture is tripled in volume and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Serve pears warm with sauce.

PEARS STUFFED WITH ROQUEFORT AND WALNUTS IN PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Mash together cheese, bread crumbs, walnuts, and pepper to taste with a fork. Freeze mixture just until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Scoop out center of bottom of each pear with large end of a melon-ball cutter, then continue to remove core to make a 1/4-cup cavity. Fill each cavity evenly with cheese mixture and seal bottom with a small piece of bread.
• Roll out pastry 1/16 inch thick into a 15-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut dough into quarters to make 4 equal pieces.
• Stand 1 pear in center of a pastry square and brush pear all over with egg. Bring 1 corner of pastry up toward top of pear, pressing it against pear to adhere. Repeat with adjacent corner, then generously brush extending pastry fold with egg before pressing closely against side of pear. Repeat process with remaining 2 corners. Fold top points of pastry 1/4 inch down (see photo) and brush with egg. Transfer wrapped pear to a buttered large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan and chill while wrapping remaining pears (make sure pears are 5 inches apart in baking pan).
• Chill wrapped pears 30 minutes.
• Bake pears in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until fruit is just tender when pierced with a knife and pastry is golden and cooked through (pastry will shrink a bit). Cool pears at least 15 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.

PEARS BAKED WITH ROQUEFORT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the walnuts, cheese and lemon juice in a bowl, mashing the ingredients together to make a paste.
• Peel, halve and core the pears. Stuff the cavity of each pear half with a spoonful of the Roquefort mixture, mounding it up slightly. Place the stuffed pears in a shallow baking dish and pour the wine around them.
• Bake about 30 minutes, until the pears are tender. Allow to cool about 20 minutes before serving.

POACHED PEARS IN SAUTERNES

Steps:

• Using a small, sharp knife, score a zigzag pattern in the skin around the top of each pear, working downwards from the stalk.
• Leaving the zigzag skin at the top in place, peel the rest of each pear very thinly so as to preserve their shape.
• Remove the core from the base, using a corer or a small melon baller.
• Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan big enough to hold everything, including the pears.
• Set over a medium heat until the liquid comes to the boil, then reduce the heat so that it is barely simmering.
• The cooking time will vary according to the ripeness of the pears.
• Very ripe pears will only take 5 minutes; much less ripe fruit will need up to 15 minutes.
• As soon as they are ready, turn off the heat.
• Transfer the pears with their poaching syrup to a bowl and leave at room temperature until needed.
• Serve one or two pears on each plate with a little orange zest and some syrup.