Sautéed pears with custard and orange syrup

Squeeze the juice from 2 oranges, using blood oranges if possible.

Peel 4 Pears, cut in half and plunge immediately into a bowl of cold water containing 1 tablespoon lemon juice or better still 2 pinches vitamin C.

This is to prevent them turning brown. It doesn't help the taste, but keeps them nice and white.

Take a pear half out of the water, remove the stalk and core using a small spoon or better still a pommes parisiennes spoon (melon spoon). Return them to the cold water when done.

Continue like this to prepare all the pears.

Melt 2 tablespoons clarified butter in a pan on medium heat. When nice and hot, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons caster sugar and add the pears, dried. Brown lightly on the flat side.

Keep an eye on them and when the pears are lightly browned turn then over and brown on the rounded side, but don't leave them too long .

Set aside in a warm place.

Heat the serving plates.

Pour the orange juice into the same pan and leave to reduce until you have a kind of orange syrup.

Arrange on the plates: place 2 pear halves head to tail on each plate with the inside facing upwards.

Fill the central hollow with custard. It doesn't matter if this spills over slightly, on the contrary, it looks pretty.

Pour orange syrup all round and serve immediately.