with Vanilla Ice Cream

It’s quite a fancy­-­sounding dish and fairly spectacular to serve, but it’s really quite simple to prepare. I often collaborate with Martin Herold, a friend and gifted chef from Alsace, who now lives in the United States. It’s infrequent that you encounter vanilla and pineapple in the same equation; it was Martin’s idea to combine this tropical fruit (pineapple) with this tropical pod (the vanilla bean) so uniquely. The finished recipe provides a delightful element of contrast between the warmth of the pineapple and the coolness of the vanilla ice ­cream. The best pineapples in my opinion are the Del Monte Golds. Their interiors should be a warm yellowish­-­gold color. Any pineapple that is whitish on the interior is going to be too ­sour.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe pineapple, tough outer skin cut off with a sharp knife
• 4 vanilla beans, cut in half along the horizontal axis and then cut in half along the vertical (16 pieces ­total)
• 4 cups brown ­sugar
• 2 cups dark ­rum
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

Instructions

1. Use a wooden skewer or large toothpick to poke holes from the exterior toward the center of the pineapple. Insert the slivers of vanilla beans into the ­holes.

2. Place the pineapple in a deep roasting pan and add 8 cups of water or enough to completely cover the fruit. Add the sugar and rum, and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour. The recipe can be prepared to this point in advance; in that case, the pineapple should be placed in a container or bowl, covered with its juice, and then refrigerated until ready to be ­served, either warmed up or at room temperature.

3. To serve, remove the pot from the stove and allow the pineapple to cool in its own syrup. Slice and serve while still slightly warm, drizzled with syrup and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the ­side.

A Lighter Option: A summer option, to make the dish even more tropical, is to substitute mango or passion-fruit sorbet for the ice cream.

Faster Preparation: If you don't have the time to prepare the pineapple from scratch, fry or sauté slices of pineapple in a pan with butter, brown sugar, and a dash of vanilla extract. Deglaze the pan with rum and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Tip

Confit

Other Fruit Recipes

Baked Bananas
Baked Peaches
Caramelized Bananas
Coconut Meringue
Kiwi Marinated in Passion Fruit
Marinated Bananas
Marinated Grapefruit
Orange Tuiles
Roasted Pineapple