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Pumpkin Soup With Pernod-Flavored Herb Sorbet

For your next summer party, forget about the usual burgers and hot dogs. Instead, serve your guests a delicious dish cooked with Pernod liqueur. A successor of absinthe called pastis, Pernod’s flavor is derived from star anise, a star-shaped spice with a licorice flavor, and is combined with other aromatic plants, including mint, fennel and coriander.

Pernod enhances the flavor of vegetables and is commonly used in seafood dishes. This pumpkin soup is perfect for both cool and hot summer nights. The soup warms you up, while the sorbet cools you back down. Try it as an appetizer with other summer Pernod recipes, such as Mediterranean Sea Bass With Fennel And Pernod, Sea Scallops Brochette With Pernod Sauce or Steamed Mussels In Pernod Broth.

Pumpkin Soup With Pernod-Flavored Herb Sorbet

Serves 6

Ingredients For Soup

• 1 1/3-pound pumpkin
• 1 onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1 pinch anise powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• Cut the pumpkin and onion into small pieces and sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pan.
• Add water, milk, anise powder, salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 20 minutes before stirring.

Ingredients For Sorbet

• 3 tbsp. Pernod
• 3 tbsp. water
• 14 oz. light cream cheese
• 6 basil leaves
• 6 chive leaves
• 6 parsley leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• Pour the Pernod in a pan, warm it up, then flame it. Add 3 tablespoons of water and add this mixture to the light cream cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put mixture into the fridge for about an hour before using the ice cream maker.
• Wash the herbs, dry and chop finely.
• Pour the light cream cheese and Pernod mixture into the ice cream maker. When the sorbet processing begins, add your herb mixture and continue until well blended.

Serve the soup warm with a long scoop of sorbet down the middle.

Recipe and photo © 2008 Pernod-Ricard USA. Other material Lifestyle Direct, Inc.  All rights reserved.