Watermelon Poached Pear
Recipe courtesy of Danielle Waterman, Line Cook, Kelly Greens Golf & Country Club
Ingredients
- Red Wine Poached Pears
- Asian pears - 2, peeled
- pinot noir - 1 quart
- cinnamon powder - 1 Tbsp.
- cinnamon sticks - 4 ea.
- granulated sugar - 1 Tbsp.
- sherry wine - 1 Tbsp.
- star anise - 5 ea.
- whole cloves - 1 tsp.
- orange peel - 1 ea.
- vanilla extract - 1 Tbsp.
- ground nutmeg - 2 Tbsps.
- For Red Wine Syrup
- corn syrup - 4 Tbsps.
- granulated sugar - 7 Tbsps.
- For White Wine Poached Pears
- Asian pears - 2, peeled
- chardonnay wine - 4 cups
- lemon peel - 1 ea.
- lemon juice - 1 ea.
- sugar - 1 Tbsp.
- honey - 1/2 Tbsp.
- black peppercorn - 10 ea.
- ginger - 1 oz., fresh, peeled
- amaretto - 2 Tbsps.
- mint leaves - 8 ea.
- Whipped Lemon Cream Cheese
- Smithfield pourable cream cheese - 6 ozs.
- powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
- amaretto - 1 tsp.
- heavy cream - 1/3 cup
- vanilla extract - 1 tsp.
- lemon zest - 2 ea.
- Chocolate Soil
- granulated sugar - 1/2 cup
- water - 2 Tbsps.
- dark chocolate - 1/2 cup
Instructions
Procedure for Red Wine Poached Pears:
- Cut pears in half; remove core and seeds using a spoon.
- Place all other ingredients except pears, corn syrup and 7 tablespoons of sugar into a small pot
- Over medium heat bring to a light simmer
- Place pear half’s into poaching liquid and simmer for 25 minutes
- Once fully cooked and tender remove pears from liquid and place in refrigerator cool
- Strain poaching liquid through chinois into a clean small pot.
- Add corn syrup and sugar to the strained liquid.
- Reduce liquid over medium heat until nape consistence is reached
Procedure for White Wine Poached Pears:
- Cut pears in half; remove core and seeds using a spoon.
- Place all other ingredients except pears into a small pot
- Over medium heat bring to a light simmer
- Place pear half’s into poaching liquid and simmer for 25 minutes
- Once fully cooked and tender remove pears from liquid and place in refrigerator cool
Procedure for Whipped Lemon Cream Cheese:
- In a stand mixer place all ingredients together in bowl
- With a whip attachment whip ingredients to a medium peak
- Once whipped place in a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip
Procedure for Chocolate Soil:
- Place sugar and water in a small pot over medium high heat
- Cook sugar until edges start to caramelize and turn brown
- Whisk in dark chocolate and cook until crumbly
- Pour onto a parchment lined sheet tray to cool down.
To assemble:
- Cut each pear half into 10 even slices, keeping each half together
- Remove 3 slices of the red poached pear and 3 slices of the white poached pear
- Keeping a 2 inch margin away from the rim of the plate shingle the pears clockwise, alternating the colors centered at the 6 o’clock position on the round plate
- Shingle the remaining red poached pears and remaining white poached pears around the outside of the plate leaving an open circle in the middle
- Pipe the whipped cream cheese into the center of the open circle in a clock wise motion
- Using a sauce spoon carefully drizzle the red wine syrup around the outside of the sliced pears in a circular motion
- Sprinkle the chocolate soil over the red wine syrup and small dusting on the pipped cream cheese cream in the middle of the plate.
- Zest lemon over top of the whipped cream cheese and sliced pears
- Garnish with a sprig of mint per plate off center in the whipped cream cheese