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TravelOregon.com - Recipe of the Month
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Pinot Noir Poached Pear with Hazelnut Brittle and Gourmet Cheese Fromage Blanc
This month's recipe hails from the Red Star Tavern and Roast House in Portland. Wow your family and friends by preparing this delectable dish as a treat after Thanksgiving dinner!
Poaching Liquid:
-2 750 ml. bottles of Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir
-1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
-2 cinnamon sticks
-1/2 (one-half) teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
-1/4 (one-fourth) cup fresh ginger, sliced
-1/2 (one-half) teaspoon ginger, ground ginger
-3 1/2 (three and one-half) cups sugar
-2 orange slices
-4 or 5 Oregon Bosc pears, peeled and cored
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. Add the whole pears so they are completely submerged. Cover with parchment paper and gently weight the pears with a lid if needed to keep them from floating up. Poach at a very low simmer until they can be pierced with a wooden skewer with little but some resistance. (The length of time will depend on the ripeness of the pears; ripe but sill firm will yield the best results and will poach for about 15-25 minutes). Remove pears from heat when they are done and let them cool in the poaching liquid. It is best to store the pears in the liquid until you are ready to serve them. This can also be done days in advance and probably best if they sit overnight.
Hazelnut Brittle:
-3/4 (three-fourths) teaspoon baking soda
-1/8 (one-eigth) teaspoon salt
-1 cup sugar
-1/8 (one-eighth) cup water
-1/2 (one-half) cup light corn syrup
-1 cup Oregon hazelnuts, lightly toasted, peeled and chopped
-4 Tablespoons butter
-1/2 (one-half) teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine soda and the salt in a bowl and set aside. Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a stainless steel pot. Cook to 225 degrees or a very light amber color. Add the hazelnuts, stirring constantly, cook to 300 degrees. Stir in soda and salt mixture. Add the butter a little at a time, then the vanilla. Pour onto a greased sheet pan with parchment to cool. When it is cool, crush brittle into small pieces.
Pinot Noir Glaze:
Remove 1 1/2 (one and one-half) cups poaching liquid and reduce to approximately 1/4 cup. Set aside to cool. It should be the consistency of a syrup.
To Serve:
Place 2 ounces of the Oregon gourmet cheese Fromage Blanc in the center of the plate, slice 1/2 (one-half) of the pear to fan the pear up on the cheese, drizzle with the pinot noir syrup, and sprinkle with the crushed hazelnut brittle. Garnish with a flowering thyme sprig.
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