Sour Cherry Sorbet With Peppercorn Syrup

Love a tangy, savoury-sweet dessert?  Me too!  This recipe is from Delicious magazine.  Matt Preston, former Masterchef judge, cookbook writer, food critic and cook has whipped up this sweet treat for us.  And then there's that surprise of the peppercorn syrup to go with.  This sorbet and syrup are actually accompaniments for his gingerbread pavlova recipe, which I didn't make.  

I have fond childhood memories of Mum making them though.  She had one of those (retro now) Sunbeam Mixmasters, which last forever.  It whizzed up those egg whites like a charm!  The closest I get to making a pav is a quick roulade.

Now for the hilarious bit of this recipe: I usually make a recipe, and take notes and photos as I go.  And I make sure I have a copy of the original recipe (which I usually adapt a bit).  I made this (very) late last year, and to my dismay hadn't kept a copy of the recipe.  I'd given the magazine away to a friend already.  So I asked her if she still had it?  Nope, she'd given it to her niece, but she would ask her for me.  Said-niece was giving the baby dinner so I had to wait till she could answer.  Nope, no longer with the niece. 

I checked through my photos, and notes, and the Delicious mag. website.  Sure, they had the recipe but only full instructions for the pav bit!  So then I asked on the Facebook page Chat 10 Looks 3, and yes a kind Chatter (as we/they are known) put up a photo of the recipe for me.  Phew!!  So now it's the next morning ... !  18 hours later, as they say on YouTube :=)

whizz away till smooth 

Start this recipe very early in the day, and the day before you need it!!

Serves 6 (or so):

ingredients:

1 x 680g./24 oz jar of sour/Morello cherries in syrup, drained - liquid reserved for the peppercorn syrup

2 tsp caster sugar (use more if you like it sweeter)

1-2 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs cherry liqueur (optional - my idea)

1 large egg white    see Notes

2 Tbs whole black peppercorns

Method:

Get up early and prepare the cherries (tee hee) by draining them, (don't lose the syrup!), placing them in a large freezer bag, and laying them down flat in your freezer for 4 hours or till firm

Now tip them into your food processor (yes, you do need one for this), along with the sugar and lemon juice (and cherry liqueur), and whizz till kinda looking like snow (that's what Matt says)

Add the egg white and blitz a bit more (scrape the bowl down once or twice) till looking smooth and beautiful and very pink

Spoon it into a container with a lid, and freeze overnight

Meanwhile make the syrup by pouring the reserved cherry liquid into a medium saucepan, and throwing in the peppercorns

Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, and let it do its thing for 10 minutes or so, till you have reduced it till thick and syrupy (and about half a cup)

Let it cool, then pour into a small jug or bottle and leave overnight in the fridge, so the sorbet doesn't feel lonely

So the next day, you will strain the syrup and pour over scoops of the bright and beautiful sorbet

Notes:

Matt says you can use 60 mL/2 big oz of aquafaba (bean water from a tin) instead of the egg whites but I feel a bit conflicted about that.  We were always told to drain and rinse tinned beans or chickpeas very well to get rid of this exact same liquid!  So what the??!

I added a few strawberries I had lurking in the fridge

and blitzed 'em!

into the freezer overnight it goes

syrup and peppercorns bubbling away for 10 minutes or so

and look at how little is left :=)  And so many peppercorns!

straining it the next day before eating with the sorbet

sweet and somewhat savoury syrup!

I forgot to take a photo of the finished dessert!  It was delicious.

(Joining in with the blogs Write of the Middle and Deb's World for #WWWhimsy)

c. Sherry M.

c. Sherry M.