Poires Belle Hélène aux Truffes Noir (Pears with Chocolate Sauce and Black Truffles)
A Truffle a Day — Day 10
A French classic, this simple dessert is not only light and pleasing, it can be presented year-round (so long as you can find fresh pears) with the same easy grace. Conceived in 1864 by the great chef and innovator, Georges Auguste Escoffier, it was named after the operetta “La Belle Hélène”, which was a triumph in Europe that particular year. Traditionally, the pears for La Belle Hélène are poached in syrup, but I prefer the texture of the freshly sliced fruit.
Ingredients:
1 fresh pear per person
100 grams baking chocolate (Ghirardelli, 60% bittersweet is my preference)
1 scoop vanilla or maple walnut ice cream per person
Truffle, to taste
Preparation:
Slice pears in thin slivers and fan around the edge of a dessert plate. Place a scoop of ice cream in the center. (Alternatively, you can poach the pears, either halved or whole, along with a vanilla bean, in a simple syrup. Chill before serving.)
Melt chocolate in a saucepan with a small amount of water and drizzle over the plate. Garnish with freshly grated Périgord truffle. Accompany with a Sauternes or simply with an expresso.
A Truffle a Day is a series of one-a-day truffle recipes, excerpted from the soon-to-be-released Cooking with Truffles: A Chef’s Guide. All recipes can be prepared with or without truffles, depending on the voluptuousness of your pantry. Previous recipes include: Truffled Corn Chowder, Truffled Grits, Truffled Coffee, and Truffled French Bistro Cake.
