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Pear Belle Helene Pie

CRUST

 

6 ounces chocolate-wafer cookies, broken into pieces (about 30 cookies)

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pinch of salt

 

FILLING AND GARNISH

 

2 ½ pounds of ripe pears, such as Comice, Anjou or Bartlett, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks (about 5 cups)

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup pear vodka or poire Williams (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

6 tablespoons cold water

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

 

Make the Crust:

 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a food processor, combine the chocolate-wafer cookies, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse to form very fine crumbs. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse just to combine. Press the crumb mixture into a 9 or 10-inch pie plate and bake for 10 minutes to set. Set aside to cool.

 

Make the Filling:

 

In a medium saucepan, combine the pears, sugar, pear vodka and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are very tender, about 10-15 minutes.

 

Reserving the cooking liquid, drain the pears and transfer them to a food processor. In a small heatproof bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water to soften and add the reserved hot liquid to the gelatin and stir to dissolve.

 

Add the gelatin mixture to the pears and puree until very smooth. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and blend. Transfer the puree to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until the mixture will mound on a spoon (about 2-3 hours).

 

Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream gently but thoroughly into the pear puree. Spoon the mixture in the pie shell and refrigerate for at least 8 hours until firm.

 

Just before serving, grate chocolate over the top of the pie.