Poirs Belle Helene Recipe

600 ml/1 pt water
100 g/4 oz granulated sugar

Thinly pared rind of 1 orange
2.5 ml vanilla essence (extract)

4 large pears
Belgian Chocolate Sauce

Method:

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add the orange rind and vanilla. Peel the pears and carefully cut out the cores from the base, leaving the fruit whole. Place in the syrup and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until they are translucent. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the syrup. Remove from the syrup and transfer to shallow glass serving dishes. Spoon the Belgian Chocolate Sauce over and serve cold.