Mandarines Givrees

Method

1. To make the syrup: Place 120 ml/4 fl oz (1⁄2 cup) water, the sugar and lemon juice in a pan on a low heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to completely cool.

2. To make the sorbet: Grate the zest from four of the tangerines and squeeze their juice. Use a sharp knife to cut the ‘top’ off the remaining tangerines so each one has a ‘lid’. Try to keep the leaves and stems attached to each lid. Put the lids to one side for later.

3. Use a teaspoon to remove the flesh (all the segments) from inside each tangerine, being careful to keep the skin intact. This can be tricky, as some fruit will have looser skins than others. I find the best way to do this is by gently pushing the spoon between the segments and the thin outer pith, gradually taking out a few segments at a time. Once one or two segments are removed, the rest come out more easily. Put the hollow skins, each of which should now be clean on the inside, onto a tray and into the freezer.

4. Purée the scooped-out flesh using a handheld blender. Press the blended pulp through a fine sieve to extract as much of the juice as possible. Add the juice from the four tangerines you squeezed earlier too. In total you should end up with about 750 ml/25 fl oz (3 cups) juice. Otherwise, squeeze a few extra tangerines to bring up the volume. Add the grated zest, the fresh lemon juice and the cooled syrup to the tangerine juice. Taste and adjust with sugar or extra lemon juice, if more sweetness or sharpness is required.

5. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer the sorbet into the frozen tangerine shells, replace the lids and store in an airtight container in the freezer. This sorbet is best enjoyed the day it is made.

6. Serve the mandarines givrée in an ice bowl or on a bed of bay leaves. If the fruit did not come with leaves attached, be extra generous with the bay leaves to compensate.