Chez Luce

Recipe: Rhubarb and Ginger sorbet

I think I forgot to mention that I was given the BEST PRESENT EVER this Christmas, a Cuisinart Professional Ice Cream Maker. As we don’t have a proper freezer (it’s big enough for 2 containers of ice cream and a bag of frozen peas) I just *had* to have one of the ones with the integral freezer, and it’s amazing! It has often been referred to an investment rather than a gift for me, due to the sheer amount of desserts I have been churning out (hah!).

Apparently, I have now been made into something of an ice cream snob. Homemade ice cream is in a different league to store bought, we had some Haagen Dazs the other day and were commenting on how thin it was. And I used to think that was some of the best ice cream you could get.

In addition to making thick, rich ice creams, we have also tried a couple of sorbets. All of the recipes I have tried so far are from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, a book I would recommend to anyone interested in making their own frozen desserts.

I saw some lovely pink (cheap) rhubarb in the market and knew it would make a flavoursome sorbet. After cooking down with some sugar, water and chopped root ginger, I pureéd the rhubarb with the juice of a lime. I churned it in the trusty machine and after 40 minutes I had a lovely, rose-coloured smooth sorbet. The ginger really peps it up and the sorbet isn’t too sweet. I think it would go really well with a creamy dessert such as a panna cotta or a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream.

p.s. Happy Valentine’s day everyone x

Rhubarb and Ginger Sorbet

225g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
280ml water
700g rhubarb, cut into pieces
3cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1 lime

Bring the sugar, vanilla and water to a gentle simmer in a large pan and cook until dissolved. Add the rhubarb and ginger, and simmer until the rhubarb is soft. Purée the mixture in a blender and pass through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the lime juice, before chilling well and churning in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.