PEARS WITH RASPBERRIES AND MERINGUE

Pears With Raspberries And Meringue image

Provided by Craig Claiborne

Time 1h

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

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Ingredients

3 pears, about 1 1/2 pounds
5 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups water
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups whole red, ripe raspberries, or 3 cups strawberries cut in half
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 egg whites

Steps:

Peel the pears using a swivel-bladed paring knife. Cut away the stems.
Combine enough water to cover the pears when added and 4 tablespoons lemon juice and add the pears as they are peeled.
Cut the pears lengthwise in half. Scoop out the cores, and a little of the meat, of each half to form a nice-sized cavity.
Combine the 3 cups water with 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the vanilla bean or extract. Bring to the boil and add the pear halves and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice. When the mixture returns to the boil reduce the heat and cook about 20 minutes or until pears are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove the pears and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Let the pears cool.
Put half of the berries in the container of a food processor or electric blender and blend while gradually adding the reserved 1 cup of pear-cooking liquid and the orange juice. This mixture may be used as is, but it is best to put it through a fine sieve of the sort known in French kitchens as a chinois, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. There should be about 1 1/3 cups.
Fill the cavity of each pear with about 3 of the remaining berries. Quickly invert the pears on an ovenproof serving dish.
Preheat the broiler.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until stiff. Spoon the resulting meringue into a pastry bag outfitted with a star-shaped tube (No. 3B). Squeeze out the meringue in star patterns over the pears. Pour the sauce around the pears. Place the dish under the broiler about 4 inches from the source of heat. Broil briefly until the tips of the stars are browned. Garnish around the sauce with a circle of the remaining raspberries.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 321, UnsaturatedFat 0 grams, Carbohydrate 81 grams, Fat 0 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 2 grams, SaturatedFat 0 grams, Sodium 22 milligrams, Sugar 73 grams