Poached pears with chocolate sauce and almonds

1. Put the sugar in a saucepan. Add 40 cl water and the vanilla pod split in half lengthwise. Bring to a boil. And leave to boil for 5 minutes.

2. Peel the pears and place in a pan that can hold them upright. Sprinkle with the syrup and cook slowly for 20 minutes, basting frequently the pears.

3. Remove the pears from the syrup and let cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish chop the almonds. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of water. Remove from heat. Set aside.

5.  Dip the base of each pear in chocolate and then coat them in the almonds and arrange on serving plates. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge.

Photo credit: Sucré Salé