Soup De’ville: Pineapple-Tarragon Soup, Coconut Cilantro Sorbet, Cucumber Pearls, Ginger Foam, Lemon Meringue, and Basil Ice

METHOD:

For the Coconut Cilantro Sorbet:
Combine the coconut purée, water, sugar, and dehydrated sugar in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium heat. Remove the pot from heat and let the mixture cool for 4 hours. Once the mixture has cooled, put the coconut base in a blender with the cilantro and blend the mixture for 10 seconds. Process the mixture in Carpigiani ice cream machine.

For the Pineapple Tarragon Soup:
Chop the pineapple and combine with the tarragon and sugar in a pot over a low heat. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Blend the mixture to a purée, and put it in the center of a cheesecloth. Gather the edges to form a bundle and squeeze the juices out of the mixture.

For the Lemon Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 150ºF. In the bowl of a Hobart standing mixer, whip the egg whites with the sugar to stiff peaks. Add the lemon zest and fold in the confectioners sugar. Put the mixture in a piping bag with a round tip and pipe long strands of meringue on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray. Bake the meringues in the oven for 2 hours until they have dried out. Break the meringues into small pieces. Store in an air-proof container until you’re ready to plate.

For the Ginger Foam:
Combine the ginger, water, and sugar in a small pot and bring the mixture to a boil over a medium heat. Remove the pot from the heat and cool the mixture. Store the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

For the Basil Ice:
Put the basil in a blender and blend it to a purée. Set it aside in the refrigerator. Combine the water, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot and bring to a boil over a medium heat to form a simple syrup. Remove the mixture from the heat and chill it. Pour the simple syrup in the blender with the basil and blend the mixture to a purée. Freeze the basil syrup.

For the Cucumber Pearls:
Peel the cucumber and with a melon baller, scoop balls of the cucumber, and store them in a small container in the refrigerator.

To Assemble and Serve:
Put the cucumber pearls and lemon meringue crumbs in the center of the serving bowl. Scrape the frozen basil syrup with a fork like a granité and top the cucumbers with it. Scoop the cilantro sorbet on top of the basil ice. Put the ginger simple syrup in a tall container and blend on high with an immersion blender until it forms a foam. Spoon the foam on top of the sorbet. Finish with the pineapple tarragon soup.