Peach & Lemon Sorbet From The River Café

Author Notes

In honor of Genius Recipes turning 10 years old, and the iconic three-ingredient Strawberry Sorbet from The River Café that started it all, we’re sharing two new sorbet buddies that are even simpler, requiring no special machinery at all. In this one, you need only a sharp knife to cut the peach into juicy-sweet chunks that remain in the sorbet. Serve this at a sorbet party along with the original strawberry flavor or its friend Mascarpone Sorbet, both on Food52, or tucked into a brioche bun, in a seltzer or prosecco float, or all on its own.

A few tips: The tidiest way to peel ripe peaches is to dunk them briefly in boiling water, then quickly cool them in a bowl of ice water (the skins should slip right off). Or you can feel free to leave some or all of the peel on for extra texture and dots of color (and ease). Nectarines or any other ripe stone fruit would make a fine substitute. Superfine, or caster, sugar was used in the original recipe, but if you can’t find it, feel free to substitute an equal weight of granulated sugar (about 1 cup). As Ruth Rogers advises, the most important thing is to taste the fruit and the sorbet before churning and adjust as needed—it should challenge you a little, and feel like the fruit is exploding in your mouth.

Adapted from River Café Cook Book Easy by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers (Ebury Press, 2003).

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Hear more about this recipe from Ruthie herself, on our podcast The Genius Recipe Tapes. —Genius Recipes