Australian Gourmet Traveller – (02)February 2019 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 37

RECIPE PHILIPPA SIBLEY. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR. STYLING GERALDINE MUÑOZ. FOOD PREPARATION LISA FEATHERBY.

Toolkit

The Breville ice-cream

maker ($399.95)

churns according

to the texture of the

purée, resulting in the

smoothest sorbet.

T

he key to making a delicious fruit sorbet is using

fresh fruit at its peak. Summer is the perfect time

to experiment – there’s plenty of fruit in season to

play with, and a bowl of sorbet is always welcome

on a hot day. It’s super easy to make your own at home, and

so much more rewarding than hitting up the local ice-cream

parlour. It’s all about choosing fruit that’s ripe and fragrant,

and balancing the quantities of sugar and water: if there’s too

much sugar, the sorbet will be too soft and sweet; if there’s

too much water, it’ll freeze solid. The rest? Simply blend

a fruit purée, churn, freeze, scoop and serve.

Masterclass

Step by step

What’s your flavour? When it comes to flavour combinations, keep it simple and look to classic

desserts for inspiration. Peaches and apricots work well with vanilla, while honeydew melon and

pineapple are perfect matches for lemon verbena. Lime juice brings out the natural sweetness

of mango, and classic citrus fruits are complemented by makrut lime and lemongrass. Or, for

a boozy kick, try adding a little of the spicy, herbal liqueur, Chartreuse, to strawberry purée.

1

Cut 1kg nectarines in half,

discarding stones.

2

Combine nectarines with

a bruised, halved lemongrass

stick, 280gm caster sugar, 80gm

liquid glucose and 150ml water

in a large saucepan (see note).

3

Bring nectarine mixture to

a simmer over medium heat

and simmer until fruit is softened

(5-10 minutes), then cool briefly.

4

Purée nectarine mixture in

a blender, then pass through

a fine sieve.

5

Churn purée in an ice-cream

machine in batches, according

to machine instructions, until a

soft sorbet consistency, then transfer

to a container and freeze until firm

(1-2 hours). For the best results, churn

sorbet around 2 hours before serving,

so it’s ready to go in the freezer

ahead of time. If it gets too firm,

soften it in the refrigerator a little.

Note Why stop at nectarines?

Apricots and peaches make

great sorbet, too. Follow the

same recipe as above, adjusting

as follows: for apricot sorbet, use

300gm caster sugar, 85gm liquid

glucose and 285ml water; for peach

sorbet, peel the fruit and use 260gm

caster sugar, 75gm liquid glucose

and 95ml water. ●

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