Soupe Glacée aux Fruits Rouges

I've recently been emailed by a very nice reader from France who lives in Lyon with his partner. His very nicely worded email (in English, although I do read and understand most French - speaking it is another matter entirely) inspired me to write back and suggest that we exchange recipes. Not only did he write back but included a recipe for a dish that I'd not had since I was a kid and recall my Polish grandmother making something very similar. I don't recall the variety of fruits in it, just cherries, but I don't think these will do any harm at all... The best part is that cherries have just started to come into season here in Toronto, evidenced by the fact that Dominion has them on sale this week for only $3.99 a pound. Sebastian went shopping yesterday and picked up a pretty big bag of them, so perhaps I'll make this soup tonight to have tomorrow evening. Thanks, Jérôme, for reminding me of this cool, oldfashioned dessert on these hot, humid nights.

Soupe Glacée aux Fruits Rouges

- 1 pound of cherries
- Pint of strawberries
- Pint of raspberries
- Pint of bilberries (can substitute wild blueberries)
- Jasmine tea
- Sugar(to taste)
- Pink peppercorns

Begin this recipe in the cooler morning for later that evening when its hot and sticky and humid. The Jasmine tea fragrance marries well with the fruits - the fresher the fruit the better the flavour of the finished soup.

Bring to a boil twice as much water as volume of cherries and add the tea. Infuse quickly and remove bags or strain so it doesn't get too strong or bitter. Add sugar to taste (make this less sweet than you would drink tea, remember the fruits have plenty of sugar, you just want a slight syrup) and the cherries. A lot of sugar will create a rather thick syrup, a little sugar a lighter syrup. Return the pot with cherries, tea and sugar to a medium low heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the water is coloured and the cherries to keep a little of their color. Remove cherries with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the syrup over medium high heat until thickened slightly, stirring contstantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Before serving, add to the syrup the reserved cherries, strawberries halved lenthwise, raspberries and bilberries. Add some pink peppercorns (can either be crushed or whole). Return to the refrigerator to chill completely and allow the syrup to permeate each berry.