sweet thoughts The Adventurous Kitchen by chef ken frank W ith summer weather and the Simple Swenes: SORBET in late Summer incredible variety of fresh, perfectly ripe fruit available right now, the time has come to make sorbet. Back in the ’70s, sorbet was one of the first “new lighter” desserts to be embraced by chefs. I still remember being stunned how simple it is to make. You don’t really even need a recipe; you can guess and get plenty close. With a little discipline, you can nail it every time. Paris in the summer heat is all the more bearable due to the fact that you’re never more than a few blocks away from a scoop of sorbet, sold right out of the window. It’s impossible to overstate how much joy can be had from a little scoop of “fraises des bois.” In its most basic form, sorbet is simply fresh fruit and sugar. Strawberries, for example, are pureed with sugar; the mix is thinned and brightened with a little lemon juice, and spun in an ice cream machine until smooth and creamy. No fat, no gluten, all natural dessert! Under thirty minutes. Various types of fruit do better with slight variations on this basic fruit plus sugar plus lemon juice theme. Pears are best simmered in a simple syrup, then pureed and diluted with 82 www. n A PAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine .com some of the syrup. The smoothness achieved with poached pear sorbet is unreal. Velvet on the tongue. Other bright flavors like Citrus, Black Currant, Pomegranate and Passion Fruit are made by adding the strong, sometimes almost bitter juice to a syrup. Delicious hybrids are inevitable. One of my long time favorites is to infuse fresh mint in limeflavored syrup. The chemistry is simple. Sugar keeps the juice from freezing at 32 degrees, producing a sexy, soft texture. Too little sugar and your sorbet will be hard, too much and it will be sticky sweet and never really freeze up. To keep your summer treat lower in sugar, just reduce the amount and make yourself some popsicles. If you don’t serve it in a cone, bake some “langues de chat” or some “tuiles” to serve Strawbery Sorbet 2 baskets strawberries 2/3 cup sugar Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste Wash the strawberries and remove the hulls, puree with sugar, add lemon juice to taste. Freeze in ice cream machine. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, freeze the mixture in an ice cube tray and then pulse in a food processor to achieve a similar smooth texture. Transfer to container and store, covered, in the freezer.
NVLife_SeptOct_2014
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