Pretty in Pink: A Gooseberry Sorbet

It's hot here in Estonia. I'm sure Estonia feels still cool enough for Ximena & J. who last weekend arrived here up in the North hoping to escape the Spanish summer heat (they're currently holidaying on Saaremaa, a beautiful island off the west coast). But I'm having real difficulties with the temperatures around +30 Celsius and constant sunshine. So much so that I've opted to stay and work from home for a few days. You see, the beach is just 5 minutes away, so I can always hop on my bike, cycle to the beach and dip into the waves to cool the body and clear the mind.

Alternatively, I can have yet another scoop of ice cream. I made a second batch of David Lebovitz's wonderfully tasting and amazingly simple Vietnamese coffee ice cream this afternoon - if you haven't tried that one (and like your coffee with milk & sugar), then I strongly suggest you pick up a can of sweetened condensed milk next time you're at the supermarket! But here's a sorbet recipe from a fortnight ago. Not just any sorbet, but a gooseberry sorbet of most beautiful pink shade. I served this at the recent movie night, together with four other frozen desserts, where it was a clear favourite with many of my friends. This gooseberry sorbet has a sweet yet subtly sharp flavour, and requires a use of ripe and good-flavoured gooseberries.

Gooseberry Sorbet
(Tikrisorbee)



350 ml water
300 g sugar
500 g ripe red gooseberries

Top and tail the gooseberries.
Bring the water to the boil, add sugar and stir, until dissolved. Add gooseberries and boil for 5 minutes, until softened.
Cool, then puree in a blender. Press through a fine sieve, trying to gather as much of the juices as possible.
Place into the fridge for an hour, or until the mixture is thoroughly cool.
Churn in your ice cream machine according to the instructions.

BLAST FROM THE PAST
A year ago I shared a recipe for a summery chicken with creamy mustard and dill sauce and crispy bacon. Two years ago I wrote about carrots pickled with rosemary and orange juice - both of which I still happily recommend you'd try.