Poached Pears With Creme Anglaise

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 3 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 -10 bartlett pears (firm but ripe)
• 6 cups bottled pomegranate juice
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 12 fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Recipe

• 1 to make the creme anglaise, rinse the inside of a non aluminum saucepan with water and shake out the excess.
• 2 pour in the milk and place over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
• 3 in a small bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolk, and sugar; whisk just until blended.
• 4 gradually whisk in half of the hot milk, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan.
• 5 reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, leaving a clear trail when your finger is drawn through it, 6 to 8 minutes.
• 6 stir in the vanilla.
• 7 cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool.
• 8 refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.
• 9 julienne the zest from the lemon and set aside (reserve the lemon for the juice).
• 10 with an apple corer or a small, sharp knife, carefully core each pear from the bottom.
• 11 trim the bottoms so they stand upright.
• 12 leaving the stems intact, peel the pears.
• 13 in a large non aluminum stockpot, combine the pomegranate juice, brown sugar, lemon zest, juice from the reserved lemon and cinnamon stick.
• 14 bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to simmer.
• 15 place pears on their sides in the liquid and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• 16 in the meantime, seed the pomegranates by cutting them in half (careful, the juice can stain).
• 17 fill a large bowl with cool water.
• 18 holding the cut fruit under the water, peel back the skin and membrane to release the seeds, allowing them to sink to the bottom of the bowl.
• 19 discard peels and membrane; drain and reserve the seeds.
• 20 carefully turn the pears over and cook until a small knife can be inserted easily into the bottom of the pear, 10 or 15 minutes longer.
• 21 once the pears are done, remove them from the cooking liquid and stand upright on individual serving plates.
• 22 remove and discard the cinnamon stick.
• 23 pour about 2 cups of the poaching liquid into a small saucepan; simmer over medium-low heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• 24 mix orange liqueur and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
• 25 gradually whisk the orange liqueur mixture into the reduced poaching liquid; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens to a glaze, about 10 minutes.
• 26 pour a little of the glaze over each pear, then spread some of the creme anglaise around the bottoms of each one.
• 27 sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with a mint sprig.
• 28 serve the remaining glaze alongside.