Blood Orange Sorbet
As always, a trip to Mercado Central is necessary when I am in Valencia, where I can see, snack, and take home some of the delicious treats that are sold here. With a splayed open fruit being its best advertisement, my eyes and salivating taste buds were immediately drawn to the beautiful Blood Oranges. Filling a bag of 16 fruits cost me only 2 Euros which I gladly paid for to take back with me on the train to Madrid. Racking my brain to find a special recipe for them during the week, I came across a recipe for Lemon Sorbet, which was adapted to suit my precious jewel tone fruits.
This recipe was adapted from 1080 Recipes, by Simone and Ines Ortega/Phaidon, for Lemon Sorbet.
Ingredients for Blood Orange Sorbet:
- grated rind and juice of 8-10 small Blood Oranges
- 200g/7 oz caster sugar
- 2 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- Place 500ml/18 fl oz water into a large pot, stir in the caster sugar and bring to a boil, cook for 10-12 minutes, until it is syrupy.
- Take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool.
- Stir the Blood Orange rind and the juice into the cold sugar syrup.
- Then pour this mixture into a freezer-proof container and put into the freezer.
- When the mixture begins to freeze, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a clean, dry bowl until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the mixture. (It is best to add the liquid, little by little until all of it has been incorporated into the egg whites.
- Return to the freezer and freeze until firm, around 4 hours.
- Serve in glass cups or use the skins from the Blood Oranges
- Top with a garnish of fresh mint and enjoy.
Since the recipe was originally for lemon sorbet, I might use less caster sugar next time (which was probably used to help cut the acidity of the lemons), as the Blood Oranges are sweet enough. I guarantee that those you share this with will beg for more. This recipe will be on heavy rotation for now.. - James
