Strawberry and Tarragon Sorbet by Gregor Law

I LOVE this sorbet. A good strawberry sorbet is a delicious thing anyway, but the tarragon adds a slightly mysterious soft note, complementing the strawberries without ever overpowering them. 

At first read, it sounds like it should not or could not work, but something happens between the two otherwise independent flavours to make them marry. Must be love. 

Cooking For The Senses by  Jennifer Peace Rhind And Gregor Law presents a new way of looking at food and flavour. Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Cooking for the Senses is on sale now for £25. 
For more information see: www.jkp.com/uk/cooking-for-the-senses-1.html/

INGREDIENTS: Serves 6

200g caster sugar 
200ml water 
6 sprigs of fresh tarragon 
800g fresh strawberries, 
hulled and halved 
Zest of ½ lemon 
Juice of ½ lemon 
Pinch of sea salt 

METHOD

1 Make the syrup by combining the caster sugar, water and three of the tarragon sprigs in a saucepan. Heat through to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool, leaving the tarragon in while it does. 
2 Combine the strawberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining three tarragon sprigs and a pinch of sea salt in a large bowl. Place the bowl over a large saucepan of simmering water and gently allow the strawberries to slowly cook in their own juice until broken down, stirring occasionally to turn them over evenly. This will take about 
30 minutes. 
3 Once ready, remove the tarragon and pour the mixture into a food processor and combine with the syrup. Blend until smooth. Taste for sweetness and acidity and correct if necessary – a squeeze of lemon for 
acidity or a pinch of sugar for sweetness. 
4 Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until fully chilled and smooth, then freeze. You can pass the sorbet mixture through a nylon sieve if you like, before churning, to make it extra smooth, but I like the texture as
it is. 
5 If churning by hand, place the sorbet mixture in the freezer, removing every hour or so to churn it before returning it to the freezer – repeat this 2–3 times until it is frozen. 
6 You could serve the sorbet garnished with a fresh sprig of tarragon on the side, which would give the game away, of course – or not ... and leave them guessing. 

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