Russian Season

As I’ve already mentioned, blackcurrants are not just a fount of vitamin C; they are supposed to improve heat tolerance. So in hot weather, it’s a good idea to include blackcurrants in your daily menu. Of course it’s a yet better idea to bake a delicious pie with them, but I chose the easiest way: pureed some fresh blackcurrants and sour cherries and made a sorbet. And it came out so good, I’ve got to say! As you know, I still don’t have an ice cream maker (I’m not ready to invest around $100 in a device I’d use 2 months in a year) and I’m always on the quest for ice cream maker-free frozen desserts. The pectin in blackcurrants helps the sorbet mix gel as it freezes, which results in a nice smooth texture. The ice particles in blackcurrant/cherry sorbet are so tiny that you can hardly feel them. It also melts gracefully, turning into a sort of smooth cold berry sauce. In a word, I’m quite excited about my new discovery! Oh and just to mention, I made it from scratch without any reference to existing recipes – so it’s totally the way I like it: sharp, tangy, concentrated, rich in colour and flavour.

Ingredients

2 cups blackcurrants
1 ½ cups sour cherries, pitted
¾ to 1 cup sugar (to taste)
1 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp cognac

Serves 4

Puree blackcurrants and cherries in a blender or a food processor.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water, bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.

Add sugar syrup to the berry puree, stir and put the mix through a fine sieve in order to get rid of the skins and seeds.

Add lime juice and booze to the berry mix, stir well and put in the freezer. After 2 hours, whisk sorbet with a fork and return to freezer. Repeat every 1-2 hours until sorbet freezes completely (I made mine in the morning, whisked every 1-3 hours throughout the day and left overnight to freeze completely).