Choose a fragrant, tasty variety of pear for this granita, such as Comice, Bartlett, or French butter. Few people think of pairing pears with chocolate, but it’s a surprisingly good combination, and once you taste it, you’ll wish you’d known about it sooner. Don’t hesitate to use one of my Perfect Pairings that follow the recipe to make up for lost time.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

　　6 ripe pears (3 pounds, 1 1/2 kg)

　　1 cup (250 ml) water

　　6 tablespoons (75 g) sugar

　　

Step 1

Quarter the pears, peel them, and remove the cores. Dice the pears into 1-inch (3-cm) pieces. Put them in a medium-sized, nonreactive saucepan with the water and sugar and cook over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until completely soft, about 8 minutes. A knife inserted into a pear chunk should meet no resistance.

　　

Step 2

Cool to room temperature, then purée the pears and their liquid in a blender or food processor until smooth. Freeze according to the instructions for freezing granita on page 145.

　　

Perfect Pairings

Step 3

Serve Pear Granita with Chocolate Sorbet (page 120) or Chocolate Ice Cream, Philadelphia-Style (page 28).

　　The Perfect Scoop