Pear & Vodka Sorbet with Grilled Pears

Spring here in NZ is giving us a range of weather, from warm sunny days back to cold wet and windy days. We even had a hail storm this weekend which is very unusual out at the beach, it’s so unusual that I found a bowl of hail stones in our very small freezer! Hubby found it quite a novelty to see hail in the garden and collected it up, I’m not sure what he planned to do with it, he muttered something about using it in his whiskey, apparently pure glacial or snow water is the best. I think he forgot about the dirty ground it had fell on since it was a small scattering of hail rather than metres of it where a top layer would be pure…bless. I didn’t use it in my sorbet but we do use filtered rain water collected off our roof since we have no mains supply…..no really it is quite civilized out where I live I promise :o)

We had the sorbet as a palate cleanser as part of a dinner but I am certain it will we a favourite during the summer months as we swing on the hammock in our garden watching the white clouds skit across the blue sky. Hurry up summer!

This recipe doesn’t require an ice cream maker

Ingredients
2 pears, peeled & cored
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 shots of vodka
1 egg white

Method
Place the peeled and cored pears, water & sugar in a pan over a medium heat.
Simmer until the pear has softened.
Add the vodka and blend everything into a smooth consistency.
Place in a shallow container and freeze until solid.
Remove from the freezer and mash the mixture to a slushy consistency.
Whisk the egg white and combine with the ‘slushy pear’ mixture completely. You can do this with a hand or electrical whisk.
Place back in the freezer until re-frozen. It will not go complete solid since alcohol doesn’t freeze but will have a good smooth sorbet texture, so don’t be tempted to add more vodka at the beginning as won’t freeze at all!
The pears were just grilled with a sprinkle of sugar and lemon juice, they were quite ripe didn’t need much cooking.