Wasabi Pears in Deep Chocolate Pools

Creator: Susan Scarborough, Florida
Category: Dessert
Servings: 4
Adventure Ingredient: Wasabi

Ingredients:

• 4 small pears, such as a good sized Seckel
• 4 cups Riesling wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• 8 ounces Scharffen Berger® 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate
• 4 mint leaves or stems of lemon grass

Preparation:

Peel pears closely, leaving the stems. Core from the bottom, leaving the pear whole, and slice bottom flat to make a stable base.

Place the wine, sugar, water, lemon juice, and half of the wasabi in a 2½-quart saucepan over medium heat.

Stir until sugar is dissolved and add the pears. Simmer until pears are just tender.

Remove from heat and add the remaining wasabi.

Cool, remove from liquid, place pears on a plate and then cover. Chill in refrigerator.

When ready to serve, place chocolate in top of double boiler and melt over simmering water. Pour pools of chocolate on individual dessert plates, top with a pear. Insert stem of mint leaf near stem of pear, cross lemongrass stem on rim of plate for garnish if desired.

Presentation:

If you have rectangular serving plates, use them and place the pear with mint leaves on one, with the stems of lemongrass crossed on the other.

If you’d like to melt the chocolate in this recipe without using a double boiler, try this method: just before you’re ready to serve the pears, heat a 1/3 cup of half and half in a small saucepan over low heat. Then add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is fully melted. You can then pour this mixture in pools on the individual dessert plates and top with a pear. —Chocolate Adventure Contest staff