Poached Tropical Fruit Over Sorbet Food

POACHED TROPICAL FRUIT OVER SORBET

Steps:

• Combine pineapple juice, sugar, 1 cup water, and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Set over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until flavorful, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pass liquid through a sieve set over a heatproof bowl. Discard solids.
• Have ready an ice bath. Add the pineapple, mango, and kiwi to the poaching liquid, and let stand 15 minutes. Set the bowl into the ice bath; chill, stirring occasionally.
• When ready to serve, divide sorbet, chilled fruit, and remaining poaching liquid among 4 dessert plates.

PERFECT POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large, shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baller. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes, carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are all tender.
• Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

TROPICAL FRUIT COMPOTE WITH MANGO SORBET

Steps:

• Combine 3/4 cup water, wine and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Chill syrup until cold.
• Combine pineapple, kiwis, mango, lime juice, lime peel and chilled syrup in large bowl. Mix well. Cover fruit mixture and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Scoop 1/2 cup mango sorbet into each of 6 compote dishes or wineglasses. Spoon fruit mixture around sorbet.

MOSCATO POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, cloves, orange zest, and lemon zest in a large (10 to 11-inch diameter) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and peaches to the simmering liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the fruit is tender and the liquid is reduced. (Not to worry if the figs are less tender; you don't want to overcook the rest of the fruit.) Remove and discard the cloves.
• Off the heat, stir in the cherries and allow the fruit to cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Reheat and serve warm or at room temperature with poaching liquid and a dollop of crème fraiche.

POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Peel and dice fruit. Place Riesling in saucepan, add sugar, basil and fruit. Simmer slowly until fruit is tender. Cool and serve over ice cream.

TROPICAL SORBET

Steps:

• Scoop flesh of the dragon fruit into a blender using a tablespoon. Scoop seeds of horned melon and passion fruit into a blender. Add sugar, strawberries, starfruit, honey, lime juice, and raspberry-flavored drink mix; pulse until smooth.
• Pour fruit mixture into dessert bowls. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours.