Apple & black pepper sorbet

This sorbet is a very good foil to a rich Rosh Hashanah lunch - or any time you've eaten far too much rich dense food.  At the end of such a large meal you want something refreshing.  The spiciness of the pepper helps remind your tongue to wake-up.

Makes just under 1L of sorbet.

• 1L medium / dry apple juice (I quite like Duskin Farm's Bramley apple juice)
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 lemon - juiced
• 200 ml water
• 5 peppercorns crushed - I find ground peppercorns just disappear

As with all sorbets it's pretty darn easy.

Combine all the ingredients in a pan and heat for about 20mins.  It will come to a boil, but try to keep it at a simmer rather than rolling boil - you don't want too much to evaporate.

Place it in the fridge to cool thoroughly.

Then if you're using an ice-cream machine, follow its instructions for making sorbet.  With my machine, that basically means turning the freezer unit on to get it cold, then putting the syrup in the bowl to churn for around 30-40 minutes.

If you don't have an ice-cream machine, put the cooled syrup in a container that can go in the freezer and keep an eye on it - every hour or so - and scrape the surface with a fork to break-up the ice-crystals.  Eventually the whole lot will freeze, but not into a solid block, which will happen if you don't scrape. 

I find this method ends up more like granita than sorbet, that is, larger chunks of ice.  My preference is for a smoother sorbet, but each to their own.

Comments

[Lizet Kruyff]

This is an intriguing recipe. Recently I'm discovering different sorts of pepper (piper, not capsicum) and I wonder what kind of peppercorns you used for this recipe. Ever tried Voatsiperifery wild pepper from the Madagascar tropical Forest?
Living in the 'peperstraat' (Pepperstreet) I'm bound to be into Piper (nigrum or otherwise). Best regards, Lizet

[Anthony Silverbrow]

Lizet, the honest answer is I don't know what type of pepper it was, it was simply the peppercorns out of our pepper grinder. However, it is an interesting idea using different types. I imagine szechuan pepper would work pretty well - in fact, I think I'll give it a go.