- 8
Ingredients
- 8-10 SERVINGS
- POACHED PEARS WITH QUINCE PASTE IN PARMESAN CLOAKS
- 10 firm-ripe Bosc pears with stems (5 lb total)
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 (750-ml) bottle dry white wine
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh lemon zest
- 1 lb Spanish or Portuguese quince paste (also called membrillo), cut into 10 equal pieces
- 10 parmesan cloaks
- SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: a 1-inch melon-ball cutter
- ACCOMPANIMENT: 1 (2-lb) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano for shaving
Preparation
Step 1
Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom with melon-ball cutter to create a 2 1/2-inch-deep cavity. Rub pears all over with lemon juice in a large bowl.
Bring wine, sugar, vanilla bean, and zest to a boil in a wide 6-quart heavy pot (at least 12 inches in diameter) over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Add pears, arranging them on their sides in 1 layer, along with any lemon juice from bowl (pears will not be covered by liquid), then reduce heat to low and poach pears, covered, turning occasionally, until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish, standing pears upright and reserving liquid in pot.
When pears are cool enough to handle, fill cavities with quince paste and stand pears upright in dish again.
Boil liquid in pot over high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 3/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour syrup over pears and cool, basting occasionally with syrup. Chill, covered, basting occasionally with syrup, until cold, at least 2 hours.
Drizzle each pear lightly with syrup and slip a parmesan cloak over stem.
Serve with cheese shavings on the side.
COOKS' NOTE: Pears can be chilled up to 2 days.
PARMESAN CLOAKS
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg white, at room temperature for 30 minutes
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: 2 nonstick baking sheets or shallow baking pans; a muffin tin with 6 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter baking sheets.
Stir together cheese, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together butter and egg white in a blender at low speed, then add milk and cheese mixture and blend just until smooth.
Working in batches of 6, drop scant teaspoons of batter about 3 inches apart onto a buttered baking sheet.
Spread each dollop with the back of a spoon into a 3-inch round (don't worry if batter doesn't spread evenly).
Make a 1/2-inch hole in center of each round with your fingertip.
Bake wafers, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, about 5 minutes.
To form cloaks, immediately remove wafers with a very thin metal spatula and drape into muffin cups. (Wafers will crisp as they cool.) If wafers harden before draping, return to oven for a few seconds to soften.
Cool baking sheets between batches and rebutter sheets only if wafers begin to stick. Make more wafers in same manner.
COOKS' NOTE:
Wafers can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in a large airtight container at room temperature.
Recrisp on an ungreased baking sheet in a preheated 300°F oven 1 to 2 minutes.