REQUISITION OF POG

On one ice-cream pilgrimage we made it to the legendary Humphry Slocombe store in San Francisco, where the ‘POG’ (passionfruit, orange and guava) sorbet was a smash hit. Back home, I thought we’d try a remake. Patrons were starting to love the ice cream that we’d recreated, but we never felt we ‘owned’ it and had simply borrowed it from hallowed halls. Then we chanced upon an ice cream made with a ricotta-style cheese called requesó n. Slam the two together, and finally something to call our own.

MAKES ABOUT 1.25 LITRES (44 FL OZ/5 CUPS)

REQUESÓN

1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) milk

juice of ½ a lemon

grated zest and juice of ½ an orange

To make the ‘kissing second-cousin’ of ricotta, scald the milk in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat.

When the milk is about to boil, quickly add the lemon and orange juices and stir. The milk will start to curdle.

After a couple of minutes, line a colander with some muslin (cheesecloth) and place in the sink, then pour in the cheese. Leave to drain for 20 minutes, before placing the solids in a bowl and stirring through the orange zest and a pinch of salt.

Scoop into a sealable container and place in the fridge until needed. Any left-over cheese will keep for up to 1 week.

POG SORBET

180 ml (6 fl oz) milk

100 ml (3½ fl oz) thin (pouring) cream

100 g (3½ oz) dextrose monohydrate

40 g (1½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

75 g (2½ oz) skim milk powder

5 g (¹/₈ oz) gelatine sheets

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) passionfruit juice

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) guava purée

100 g (3½ oz) requesó n (see left)

Place the milk and cream in a heavy-based saucepan and gently bring to a bare simmer.

Combine the dextrose, sugar and milk powder, then whisk into the milk mixture.

Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes, or until soft and pliable. Remove from the water and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add to the pan and stir until dissolved.

Pour the mixture into a bowl, then cool in the fridge. Once cooled, add the passionfruit juice, guava purée and requesó n. Use a stick blender to purée until smooth.

Pour into your ice-cream machine, then churn as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.