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Pears and Fennel
Recipe by Khanh Ong
Khanh’s exquisite dessert consists of a flavoursome pear sorbet and is paired with hints of fennel and caramel
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Pear and Cardamom Sorbet
Poached Fennel
Candied Fennel
Salted Tuile
Salted Caramel
Garnish
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 180C. Prechill ice cream machine.
- To make the Pear and Cardamom Sorbet, peel and core pears and chop into even sized pieces. Place in a saucepan, add 80ml water, cover and set over medium heat. Cook until pear is very soft then remove from heat.
- Transfer pear to a blender and blend until a smooth puree. Pass through a sieve, measure out 525 grams puree and place in a saucepan.
- Add sugar cardamom, salt and 120 grams water to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until sugar has melted. Remove from heat.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool over an ice bath.
- Transfer to the ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Set aside, in freezer, until serving.
- To make the Poached Fennel, cut fennel into quarters and place in a small saucepan. Add cider, sugar and salt, set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover with a paper lid and simmer gently until fennel is soft, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, keeping fennel in the poaching liquid, until serving.
- For the Candied Fennel, slice fennel into 4 slices about 3mm thick. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle caster sugar over fennel. Place in the oven to cook until sugar caramelises and fennel becomes golden and crispy, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until serving.
- For the Salted Tuile, place all ingredients in a food processor and process until well combined.
- Using a spatula, spread the mixture thinly on a sil pat lined tray. Place in the oven to bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly remove tuile from the sil pat to a wire rack to cool.
- Break ¾ of tuile into shards and crumble the remaining. Set aside until serving.
- For the Salted Caramel, place cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, place caster sugar and 10ml water in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Heat, brushing down sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush until sugar has caramlised and golden brown in colour.
- Add warm cream, butter and salt and stir until well combined. Remove from heat and set aside until serving.
- To serve place some Salted Tuile crumbs on each serving plate. Add a large scoop of Pear and Cardamom Sorbet , a piece of Poached Fennel and a slice of Candied Fennel. Cover with shards of Salted Tuile and garnish with flowers and fennel fronds. Serve with Salted Caramel in a serving jug on the side.
