Refreshing Cold Pear Soup with Herb Sorbet and Fruit Skewers

Beat the summer heat with this invigorating cold pear soup—a vitamin-rich gem from Santé's collection of wholesome recipes.

Ingredients
Serves 4
Prep time: 45 minutes + 4 hours chilling + overnight marinating

For the herb sorbet

• 1 handful of verbena (lemon verbena)
• 2 sprigs of mint
• 2 sprigs of lemon balm
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 100 ml clear apple juice
• juice of 1 lemon
• 100 g sugar
• 2 egg whites

For the soup

• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 pears
• 2 bananas
• juice of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp honey
• ½ nectarine
• 100 g watermelon pulp
• 4 raspberries
• Also needed: ice cream maker (optional), blender

Instructions
Reserve a few verbena sprigs for the skewers. Pick leaves from the remaining herbs and place in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring the wine, apple juice, lemon juice, 150 ml water, and sugar to a boil. Simmer until the sugar fully dissolves, then cool off the heat for 10 minutes. Pour the syrup over the herb leaves, cover, and let marinate overnight.

The next day, beat the egg whites until foamy (not stiff). Strain the herb syrup through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into the egg whites, whisking to blend. Churn into sorbet using an ice cream maker. Alternatively, pour into a shallow metal container and freeze for 3 hours, stirring vigorously every 20 minutes to prevent ice crystals.

Slit the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Peel and quarter the pears, removing cores; peel and break bananas into pieces. Blend pears, bananas, orange juice, lime juice, vanilla seeds, and honey until smooth. Gradually add about 250 ml ice-cold water to reach a thick soup consistency.

Cover and chill the soup for at least 1 hour. Cut the nectarine into wedges and watermelon into cubes. Thread with raspberries onto the vanilla pod halves and reserved verbena sprigs. Divide soup into bowls, add skewers, and top with scoops of herb sorbet. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your meal!

Recipe and image: BeeldigBeeld/Stockfood