Root vegetables, pears, geraniums, chestnuts

This recipe for pears and root vegetables by chef Amaury Bouhours, of Le Meurice Alain Ducasse Restaurant in Paris, is from Gault&Millau magazine n°11. Discover the ingredients and step-by-step instructions for preparing it.

• Serves 4
• Preparation time: 1 hour
• Cooking time: 1 hour
• Resting time: 1 week

Ingredients for Amaury Bouhours' pears and root vegetables

This recipe features pears cooked in a variety of ways, autumn root vegetables, chestnut chips and geranium vinegar. Here are the ingredients.

For the pear wine

• 80 g comice pears
• 1 g black pepper
• 1/2 stick dried fennel
• 50 cl white wine
• 25 g sugar

For the endive root pickles

• 80 g chicory roots
• 8 cl white wine
• 4 cl white balsamic vinegar
• 1 g dried fennel
• White pepper

For the root vegetables

• 120 g spring onions
• 120 g parsnips
• 120 g salsify
• 120 g parsley roots
• 120 g baby celery
• 120 g earth pears
• 120 g Jerusalem artichokes
• 1.5 g salt
• 1 g pepper
• 4 g pink garlic
• 1 g geranium leaves

For the pears and roasted pears

• 120 g Comices pears
• 80 g dry martin pears (for roasting)
• 16 g hazelnut butter

For the geranium vinegar

• 12 g geranium
• 4 cl white wine vinegar

For the pear condiment

• 500 g comice pears
• 3.2 cl King olive oil
• 1 g salt
• 1 g Mac Huang pepper
• 0.8 cl geranium vinegar
• 8 g pear alcohol
• 8 g chestnuts, grated raw

For the pear vinaigrette

• 400 g comice pears
• 30 g white onion
• 40 g Jerusalem artichokes
• 1 g white peppercorns
• 1 g geranium leaves
• 1 g salt
• 40 g pear alcohol
• 1 g geranium leaf powder
• 1 g Mac Hung pepper
• 12 g seaweed jelly
• 4 cl Colombino oil
• 10 g lemon gel

For finishing and garnishing

• 80 g chestnuts (for chips)
• 40 g white endives
• 40 g fresh chestnuts
• Geranium leaf powder

Steps for Amaury Bouhours' pears and root vegetables

A few simple steps are all you need to prepare this recipe for pears, root vegetables and chestnuts.

1. Pear wine (1 week ahead). Place the halved pears in a jar with the dried fennel and black pepper. Bring the wine and sugar to the boil. Pour into the jar. Leave to stand.
2. Endive root pickles (the day before). Place endive roots in a jar. Bring the remaining ingredients to the boil, pour over the roots and store in the jar for 1 day.
3. Root vegetables. Wash, turn and sauté all vegetables without coloring with salt, pepper, garlic and geranium.
4. Pears. peel and slice pears into thick strips, half-dry, then rehydrate with pear wine.
5. Roasted pears. Cut the pear into quarters (3 per portion), turn and cook sous-vide (15 min at 90°C) with the beurre noisette, then roast.
6. Geranium vinegar. Pour the hot vinegar over the geranium in a jar. Set aside.
7. Pear condiment. Cook for 10 minutes, then smoke some of the halved pears on the barbecue, removing their skins. Mash them in a Japanese mortar with the rest of the raw pears and the other ingredients.
8. Chestnut chips. peel the chestnuts, grate them with a Microplane, combine the shreds and shape into 5 x 1 cm rectangles. Bake on a baking sheet at 120°C (static heat) for approx. 12 minutes without browning.
9. Pear vinaigrette. Grill 300 g of pears on the barbecue, then put them through the extractor. Sweat the onion, Jerusalem artichoke, white pepper, geranium leaves and the remaining 100g pears. Deglaze with pear alcohol, moisten with pear juice and seaweed jelly, and cook for around 15 minutes. Strain, cool on ice, whisk with Colombino oil and season with salt, Mac Hung pepper, geranium powder and lemon gel.
10. Finishing and garnishing. Cut endives into strips. Grate the chestnuts raw. Arrange a strip of pear condiment along the length of the plate, from top to bottom. Form a puff pastry with the roasted pears and vegetables, then place it on top of the condiment. Add the endive root pickles, semi-dried pears and endive strips to the puff pastry, tucking them lightly into the puff pastry. Finish with chestnut chips, grated chestnuts and geranium powder. Serve the vinaigrette on the side, pouring into the plate at the last minute.

Has this recipe inspired you to discover Amaury Bouhours' cuisine? Read the Gault&Millau review of Le Meurice Restaurant Alain Ducasse (Member of the Gault&Millau Academy).

• Where? 228, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
• Reservations and information on the Restaurant Le Meurice website