French Food Friday...Pear Sorbet with Pear Wafers

photo and recipe from here

Bonjour from a still steamy SW France,

This weeks recipe is inspired by the hot weather that we have been experiencing and the fact that the store that we normally buy our pear sorbet from, has run out which resulted in me having to make my own....

Pear Sorbet with Pear Wafers

Serves 6-8 |

Takes 45 minutes to make, 2 hours in the oven (for the wafers), plus freezing

Ingredients
1kg firm, ripe dessert pears, such as Comice
100g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp pear liqueur (Poire William, from good wine shops) or Calvados

For the pear wafers

75g caster sugar
2 dessert pears

Method

1. Make the sorbet. Slice the pears, discarding the cores, and put in a pan. Add the sugar and 100ml water. Stir to dissolve the sugar over a medium heat, then simmer for 15 minutes, until the pears are soft. Cool for 15 minutes, then tip into a blender with the lemon juice. Whizz until smooth. Cool and stir in the liqueur.
2. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. (Or put in a freezerproof container, cover, and freeze for 2 hours. Fork over to break up the ice crystals and freeze for a further hour.)
3. Meanwhile, make the pear wafers. Preheat the oven to 110°C/fan90°C/gas 1/4. Put the sugar and 50ml water in a pan over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and boil for 2-3 minutes. Cool.
4. Use a mandolin to slice the pears very thinly (there’s no need to peel, destalk or core them). Discard any small outer slices. Coat the slices in the syrup, then lay on a lined baking tray and bake for 2 hours, turning halfway, until dried and crisp. Peel off the paper to prevent them sticking, then lay them back on the paper to cool and crisp up further.
5. If you haven’t made the sorbet in a machine, transfer to a processor and whizz until smooth. Put back in the container and freeze until needed.
6. To serve, transfer the sorbet to the fridge for 10 minutes. Scoop into bowls and decorate with a pear wafer.

Bon appetit à tous, Leeann x