Poires au Rhum

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 3-quart saucepan
• •Parchment paper for a cartouche
• •Slotted spoon
• •1 1/2-quart heatproof deep serving bowl or timbale
• •Small saucepan for warming the rum
• •Long match or wand lighter
• •Sturdy trivet and metal lid or baking sheet

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the light syrup

   Combine 2 1/2 cups (600 ml / 600 g) of the water and the sugar in a wide 3-quart saucepan. Heat gently, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then bring the syrup to a quiet simmer. Cut a parchment round to fit inside the pan; it will keep the fruit beneath the syrup without requiring a great cauldron of liquid.

2. 2

   Stew the pears gently

   Lower the pear halves into the syrup in one snug layer and lay the parchment directly on their surface. Hold the syrup at the barest tremble for 15 to 25 minutes, turning the pears once, until a small knife enters the thickest part with little resistance. Remove any pear that becomes tender before the others. A hard boil batters the edges and cooks the outside before the center; gentle movement, not bubbling violence, is the technique.

   Ripeness governs the clock. Begin checking Bartlett pears early, while firm Bosc pears commonly need the longer cooking time.
3. 3

   Arrange the timbale

   Lift the pears carefully with a slotted spoon and arrange them, rounded sides uppermost, in a warmed 1 1/2-quart heatproof timbale, meaning a deep round serving bowl. Keep the arrangement generous and close rather than fussy. Measure 2 cups (480 ml) of the poaching syrup back into the saucepan and reserve whatever remains for adjusting the finished sauce.

4. 4

   Bind and tint syrup

   Mix 2 teaspoons of the arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of the remaining cold water until completely smooth. Bring the measured syrup just to a simmer, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the slurry. Return the pan to low heat and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, only until the syrup turns clear and lightly coats a spoon. Do not let it boil hard. If it becomes too thick, whisk in reserved hot syrup a tablespoon at a time. If prolonged heat makes it thin again, mix the reserved 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot with the last teaspoon of cold water, add it off the heat, then warm gently until clear. Ça se rattrape. Put one drop of red coloring into a small spoonful of the thickened syrup, then add this colored syrup back to the pan a few drops at a time. Stop at the palest rose blush. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the pears.

   Arrowroot should give the syrup a transparent veil, not the body of custard. Once it coats the fruit in a thin gloss, it is finished.
5. 5

   Warm the rum

   Pour the measured rum into a small saucepan while it is away from any flame, then close the bottle and put it well aside. Warm the rum over the lowest heat until it reaches about 120°F (50°C) and smells fragrant, without simmering. Turn off the burner before carrying the saucepan to the table.

6. 6

   Flamber at the table

   Set the timbale on a sturdy trivet with candles, loose linens, sleeves, hair, and the rum bottle well away. Keep a metal lid or baking sheet close enough to cover the bowl if needed. Pour the warm rum over the hot pears, then immediately ignite it at the edge with a long match or wand lighter, keeping your face and hands back. Let the blue flame die naturally and never carry the dish while it burns. If the rum does not catch on the first attempt, do not pour on more from the bottle; serve the pears as they are, because the flavor is already there. Spoon one pear and plenty of glossy syrup into each warm bowl. À table!

   Never use water on an alcohol flame. If the flame must be stopped, smother it completely with the waiting metal lid or baking sheet.

Chef Tips

• •Choose pears that yield only slightly at the neck. Fully soft fruit collapses in syrup; stone-hard fruit stays chalky at the center after the outside has surrendered.
• •Arrowroot is not decorative here. It gives the book's clear, gleaming syrup, while cornstarch makes a cloudier and heavier sauce. Keep the heat gentle once it enters.
• •The color should be a suggestion of pink. Diluting the single drop in a spoonful of syrup gives you control and prevents one enthusiastic squeeze from turning the dish scarlet.
• •Use a dark rum with at least 40% alcohol by volume and measure it before heating. The brief flame softens the raw alcoholic edge but does not remove all the alcohol.
• •For the source's cold service, stir the rum into the thickened, tinted syrup away from the heat, pour it over the pears, and chill the timbale without lighting it.

Advance Preparation

• •The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and chilled while completely submerged in their unthickened syrup. Reheat them at a bare simmer, arrange them in the timbale, and bind the syrup shortly before serving; repeated boiling weakens arrowroot.
• •The serving bowl, trivet, long lighter, and metal cover can be set out before dinner. Measure the rum into a covered heatproof cup, but warm it only when the pears are ready to come to the table.
• •For cold Poires au Rhum, complete the syrup and stir in the rum away from the heat, then chill the covered pears for at least 4 hours so the fruit and syrup become thoroughly cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 365g)