Pear, Vanilla and Star Anise Sorbet

You will need:

6 or 7 small pears

5 star anise

160g of caster sugar

1 vanilla pod

125ml of water

1tbsp and 1tsp of honey

2tbsp of agave nectar

The juice of half a lemon

First you will need to poach the pears. Place the water, sugar and star anise into a medium sized saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the vanilla beans using a sharp knife and place the beans (and the pod) into the water. Cut the pears in half and remove the seeds, boil the pears until they soften. This will take about 10mins.

Once the pears have softened, remove the star anise and vanilla pod from the pan. Stir in the juice of half a lemon, honey and agave nectar (you can find this in the 'free-from' section of large supermarkets or in health food shops).

Blend the poached pears (and the sauce) in a blender until completely smooth.

If you are using an ice-cream maker: Freeze the sorbet as per the manufacturer's instructions.

If you do not have an ice cream maker: Place the blended pears into a tupperware container and place in the freezer. Every half an hour remove the sorbet from the freezer and use a fork to thoroughly stir the sorbet. You will need to do this five or six times to ensure the ice crystals are small enough to form a sorbet. Then leave the sorbet to freeze over night.

Enjoy! x