PEAR APPLE HONEY SOUFFLE
Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch

Recipe notes: Hart and Hind is now, sadly, closed, but at the ranch, meals were often served al fresco, with goat pasture in view and Italian music piped out onto the patio.

Hands down, the favorite dish of the week at Hart & Hind - a vote that ensured it would become a staple - was a pear, apple, and honey soufflé. The striking dessert couldn't be easier to prepare. Organic pears and apples are peeled, cooked down, then blended into a thick puree (imagine the world's best apple sauce). The mixture is flavored with a drop of Mexican vanilla, then folded into whipped egg whites and baked. It's a revelation to discover that so few - and such lean - ingredients can create such a satisfying dessert.

Because this soufflé makes such an impressive - dare I say romantic - presentation, I've chosen it as a recipe of the month. A box of chocolates is nice, but a warm-from-the-oven, guilt free soufflé - now that's sensual. Happy Valentine's Day. I hope I get to make dessert for you in the near future"
 -- Chef Paula Disbrowe, Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch

2-3 (about 1 pound) tart-sweet apples (I like pink lady), peeled, cored, and sliced
3-4 (about 1 1⁄2 pounds) ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
juice of one lemon
1⁄4 cup Uvalde (or other full flavored) honey
4 dried pear halves, chopped
1 teaspoons Mexican vanilla
1 tablespoons Poire William liqueur (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar
8 large egg whites, at room temperature
1⁄4 teaspoons cream of tartar

Peel and slice the fruit, letting the pieces fall directly into a bowl of water acidulated with the lemon juice. When you’re finished, drain fruit and transfer to a medium-sized saucepan. Add the honey and bring to simmer. Turn heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often. Add the dried pears, and cook an additional 10 minutes. The fruit should cook down into a thick puree. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and the Poire William (if desired), and cool. Puree mixture in a blender.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly butter six individual soufflé dishes. Dust each dish with sugar.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until they form stiff (but not dry) peaks. Stir a quarter of the beaten egg white into the fruit puree. Gently fold in the rest. Transfer to the individual ramekins. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

Note: You can make the fruit puree several days in advance.