Pêras bêbedas com creme de mascarpone e amêndoa amarga | Poached pears with mascarpone and bitter almonds liqueur cream

(switch to English)

Ah, pêras bêbedas! Uma das minhas sobremesas preferidas e que andava esquecida há que tempos! Não sei bem porquê, mas lembrei-me delas e foi tanta a vontade que tive de ir comprar pêras e mascarpone para fazer esta receita.

Originalmente fazia um creme simples de mascarpone, só o queijo e açúcar, mas desta vez pareceu-me bem inventar um pouco. Amêndoa combina bem com pêras, por isso porque não pegar naquela garrafa de amêndoa amarga que está ali guardada e juntar um pouco? A ideia pareceu-me boa, e resultou bem. A quantidade de licor é pouca, mas suficiente para se notar o travo da amêndoa, a complementar bem as pêras.

E é justo - se as pêras estão bêbedas, então que o creme também esteja. Afinal de contas, beber sozinho nunca tem tanta graça.

---

Pêras bêbedas com creme de mascarpone e amêndoa amarga

Ingredientes ( 2 pessoas )

• 4 pêras
• sumo de meio limão
• sumo de meia laranja
• 350g de açúcar
• 75dl de vinho tinto
• casca de limão
• 1 pau de canela
• 1 cálice de vinho do Porto
• 3 colheres de sopa de licor de amêndoa amarga
• 250g de queijo mascarpone
• mel

• Descasquem as pêras, mantendo o pé (eu costumo também cortar-lhes a base, para ser mais fácil mantê-las em pé). Reguem-nas com os sumos do limão e da laranja.


• Entretanto, coloquem o açúcar num tacho e deitem-lhe água - só o suficiente para cobrir o açúcar. Levem ao lume e, assim que começar a fervilhar, deitem-lhe o vinho tinto - quando este estiver também a fervilhar, deitem-lhe duas tiras de casca de limão e o pau de canela.


• Coloquem as pêras no vinho, reduzam para lume brando e deixem ferver até as pêras estarem macias (a melhor maneira de verificar a cozedura é usar uma faca afiada para picar as pêras. Se as sentirem bem macias, sem oferecerem resistência, já devem estar boas - deve demorar pelo menos 20 a 30 minutos). Retirem as pêras, mas deixem a panela ao lume, deitando-lhe o cálice de vinho do Porto e esperando até o vinho engrossar. Depois retirem e deitem sobre as pêras.


• Entretanto preparem o creme - basta misturar a amêndoa amarga com o queijo e mexer bem com uma colher. Assim que o queijo começar a ficar cremoso, está pronto.


• Sirvam duas pêras em cada prato, com uma bola de creme de mascarpone regada com um fio de mel.

---

---

(mudar para português)

Ah, poached pears! One of my favourite recipes and still I had forgotten about them for far too long! I don’t exactly know why, but I found myself thinking of them and I just had to go buy some pears and mascarpone to make them.

You can poach pears in many different ways, but the one that is more common in Portugal is this one, where the pears are poached in red wine. We call them “pêras bêbedas”, literally “drunken pears” - despite the name, they’re safe to eat, as all the alcohol in the wine evaporates during cooking, so you end up with only a sweet and flavourful syrup.

When I started doing this dessert, I used to make a simple mascarpone cream, with just the cheese and sugar, mas this time I thought it would be good to change it a bit. Almonds go well with pears, so why not take the bottle of bitter almonds liqueur I have there in the cupboard and add a bit? It sounded like a good idea - and it was. I use a small amount of liqueur, but it’s enough for the flavour of the almonds to shine through.

And it’s only fair - if the pears are drunks, then so should the cream. After all, drinking alone is never as fun.

A final note on the bitter almonds liqueur - I obviously recommend using a Portuguese “amêndoa amarga” liqueur (also known as “amarguinha”). It’s a sweet almond-y liqueur that is incredible served very cold (on the rocks), and goes especially well with some drops of lemon juice. If you have never tried it, you definitely should.

---

Poached pears with mascarpone and bitter almonds liqueur cream

Ingredients ( 2 people )

• 4 pears
• ½ lemon, juiced
• ½ orange, juiced
• 350g sugar
• 75dl red wine
• lemon peel, two pieces
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 small glass of Port wine
• 3 tbsp bitter almonds liqueur
• 250g mascarpone cheese
• honey

• Peel the pears, keeping the stem (I usually cut a bit off the base as well, so that it’s easier to keep them upright). Pour the lemon and orange juices over them and reserve.


• In the meantime, put the sugar in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the sugar and bring to the boil. As soon as the bubbles start forming, add the red wine - as soon as the wine is also bubbling, add the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick.


• Add the pears to the pan, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer until the pears are soft (the best way to check is to use a pointed knife to poke the pears; if they feel soft without offering resistance, they should be good - this should take about 20 to 30 minutes). Remove the pears carefully into a serving dish, but leave the pan on the hob. Add the Port wine and keep simmering until the wine syrup thickens and reduces. At this point remove from the heat and pour the syrup over the pears.


• Now the cream - simply add the liqueur to the cheese and mix well with a spoon. As soon as it starts to soften and become creamy, it’s ready.


• Serve two pears per person, with a scoop of mascarpone cream on the side, drizzled with a bit of honey.