SPICED PEAR, EARL GREY CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT TACO

Everyone loves a good taco, right? Here I have changed your go-to taco for a sweet one, with a crunchy shell of hazelnut and cocoa nibs, packed with thin slices of spiced poached pears, a log of Earl Grey chocolate ganache topped with milk chocolate ganache and red vein sorrel. Start the recipe a day in advance.

Served with WHITE NEGRONI

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Instructions

1.	EARL GREY CHOCOLATE GANACHE
2.	Starting a day in advance, melt the chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl, in bursts of 20 seconds.
3.	Put the cream, glucose and tea bags in a medium-sized pot and place on the stove on a medium-high heat.
4.	Once it has come to the boil, turn off and let sit for 10 minutes (this allows the tea to infuse more).
5.	Return back to the heat and reboil, then take out tea bags and pour over the melted chocolate.
6.	With a hand blender, blend until the mixture has emulsified (it should be shiny) then add the butter and continue to blend until the butter has been incorporated.
7.	Pour into a container and set aside in a cool place overnight (not in the fridge – you’ll thank me tomorrow).
8.	SPICED PEARS
9.	Also a day in advance, put all the ingredients except the pears into a medium-sized pot and place on the stove.
10.	Bring to the boil, then take off the stove and put it aside.
11.	There are many ways in which you can prepare the pears. We use a Japanese mandolin to thinly slice them to around 2mm thick. If you don’t have a mandolin, slice the pears with a knife or peeler, or cut them into long matchstick pieces.
12.	Once you have sliced or cut the pears, put them in a bowl and pour over 400ml of the hot spiced syrup (the syrup should be is roughly 80-90°C, not boiling).
13.	Let the pears sit in the fridge overnight.
14.	NOUGATINE TACO SHELL
15.	Place the hazelnuts into a bowl with the cocoa nibs and set aside.
16.	Place the sugar, butter, pectin, glucose and 1 tablespoon water in a pot and bring the mixture to the boil.
17.	Once it has boiled, stir through the hazelnuts and cocoa nibs.
18.	Pour into a container and set aside to cool (approximately 2 hours).
19.	Once it has firmed up, heat the oven to 170°C.
20.	Divide the mixture into three portions and roll each portion between two sheets of baking paper until about 2mm thick.
21.	Place on a baking tray and let it firm up in the fridge.
22.	Once the mixture has hardened, peel off the top layer of baking paper and put the trays in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the mixture is golden.
23.	Take out the tray and let it sit for 3-5 minutes.
24.	Take a round cutter (10cm diameter) and a whisk or something similar with a round handle.
25.	Once the mixture has hardened a little, use the cutter to cut out a circle then, working quickly, pick up the disc and drape it over the handle to make a taco shell.
26.	Repeat until all the dough has been used.
27.	If your mix becomes too hard to cut, place it back into the oven for 1-2 minutes to soften up.
28.	Once you have made all the taco shells, place them in an airtight container until needed.
29.	MILK CHOCOLATE WHIPPING GANACHE
30.	Put 90ml cream and the glucose in a medium-sized pot and bring to the boil.
31.	Once boiled, pour over the melted chocolate and with a hand blender (or spatula) blend until the mixture has emulsified.
32.	Pour the remaining cold cream over the mixture and mix well.
33.	Pour into a container and place in the fridge to cool down and set (about 3 hours).
34.	TO ASSEMBLE
35.	The first job is to pipe the Earl Grey chocolate logs.
36.	Line a baking tray with paper, then using a piping bag and a 13-15mm nozzle, very carefully pipe long logs of ganache across the tray, repeating until all the chocolate has been piped. Place in the fridge to set.
37.	Once set, cut into 10cm logs and place back into the fridge.
38.	Strain the pears thoroughly.
39.	Put the milk chocolate whipping ganache into the bowl of a standard mixer and with a whisk attachment whisk until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overwhip).
40.	Put into a piping bag with an 8mm piping nozzle and place in the fridge.
41.	Take a taco shell, and place some of the drained pear slices on the bottom, then lay a log of the Earl Grey ganache on top.
42.	Take the piping bag with the milk chocolate ganache and pipe 3 nice dollops along the Earl Grey ganache.
43.	Put onto a plate and finish with red vein sorrel or edible flowers.
44.	Now for the fun part – make yourself a White Negroni, grab your tacos and enjoy.
45.	Do this alone so you don’t have to share.