I had originally planned on making this sorbet a few weeks back but for one reason or another I never got around to it. Yesterday I took a vacation day so it was a a prefect time to give this a go. It isn't that the recipe is complicated or time consuming, rather it needs a brief bit of attention over the day so a day off was perfect as I did chores around the house.
The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.
I've had the book for a few months and sadly this is only the third recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy! I am already anticipating another one tomorrow.
Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita which you can read about here and white chocolate ice cream which is written up here.
The recipe for the sorbet is simplicity itself:
2 cups Rosé wine
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
I used a Rosé wine that we got a few summers ago in Prince Edward County (a new wine region in Ontario). You wouldn't want to use a wine that was too sweet as it would seem cloying with the raspberries.
In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, bring the Rosé wine and sugar to a boil.
Remove from heat and pour over the raspberries. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.
Press the puree through a strainer to remove the seeds.
Chill the mixture thoroughly.
Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
David warns in the book that because of the amount of alcohol in the mixture it will not freeze very firmly in the ice cream maker. It was quite soft when I put it into the container to go into the freezer.
I put my faith in David and stuck it in the freezer and promptly forgot about it while we painted the porch and garage.
After supper this evening we needed something refreshing and I pulled this out to have a taste. WOW. It was an amazing combination of flavours and incredibly refreshing.
Looks wonderful - that colour is so vibrant!
Posted by: Robert | June 03, 2007 at 02:50 PM
I don't have a cute little ice cream freezer~ I have an old cranker that we never use.
Would this work with a freeze-stir-freeze... method?
Posted by: sandi @ the whistlestop cafe | June 03, 2007 at 03:27 PM
The colour is incredible - I wonder if it would be as vibrant with one of those pale rosés? The taste was even better. Paul said today that it is the best one I've made from the book so far.
Sandi - this is the one that we have: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-30BC-Indulgence-2-Quart-Automatic/dp/B0006ONQOC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-4936302-0699129?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1180899480&sr=8-2 $80 is a great price!
Posted by: Jerry | June 03, 2007 at 03:39 PM
If I remember correctly sorbets are treated slightly differently to icecream in that you only break up the crystals once or maximum twice during the freezing stage. Would that be correct?
I have a lovely recipe for a sparkling wine sorbet that is used as a palate cleanser between courses. It manages to retain some of the 'fizz' from the wine when eaten. Will email this to you (Jerry) if you want to give it a go?
Posted by: Robert | June 03, 2007 at 05:53 PM
Rob
I think that the difference is that sorbets are just juices and sugar (and in this case booze) while ice cream/gelato has cream/milk products.
I think that you could make this like a granita (ie in a pan in the freezer and breaking up the ice crystals periodicaly).
The sparkling wine sorbet sounds great - I'd like to try the recipe!
Jerry
Posted by: Jerry | June 03, 2007 at 08:43 PM