The first time I made sangria sorbet, it was a bit of a happy accident. And, I figured, no better time to make it than Passover when there is tons of wine floating around. And who better to share the recipe with than you, chers amis. Well, things did not quite go as planned. I started a happy little blog entry that went something like this:
After you’ve finished your Passover seder, you probably have some extra open bottles of wine left over. You could drink them, but I love turning them into this surprising dessert that’s a twist on the Spanish favorite. It is a great use of leftovers and I made it after last week’s pre-Pesach shabbat dinner with some remaining fruit and half a bottle of Merlot. I’ve given some guidelines below, but use whatever you have around and like.
Remember to make it a bit sweeter than you might normally drink.
Here is the lovely picture of my heaping cup of berries, macerating in the juice of a lime for about 10 minutes, ready to add the wine, orange liqueur, and simple syrup.
I then added the equal amounts of wine (Baron Herzog 2005 Merlot), simple syrup (1.5:1 parts sugar:water) — 2 C each — and 2 shots of orange liqueur (Bartenura Mandarino). And stuck in the freezer. But, alas, when I was ready to aerate with my immersion blender as I had in the past, the mixture was not even slushy. This, after 4 hours. Back in the freezer for another few hours. Still liquid.
I expected a slushy mix due to the high alcohol and sugar content, but this was ridiculous. So, I added a cup of water. A few hours back in the freezer, and voilà– a little better. Mind you, it’s now been freezing for over 12 hours.
Well, I added a tray of ice cubes and whipped with my immersion blender. Back to the freezer overnight. Next morning – still a liquidy slush, but it tasted pretty good.
Not content and seeing a little more room in the container, I added a final cup of water to help it freeze, crossed my fingers and headed South to see my family for the seders. And go South indeed the sorbet went.
When I got home last night, I was pleased to see that the sorbet had FINALLY frozen somewhat solid. I aerated again with my immersion blender, hoping for the best, but the flavor is less intense than I like and the texture is still a bit gritty. It tastes like a mediocre, watered down berry granita with a slight off-taste that is the alcohol. I’m done with the doctoring. Into the trash it will go. But I did get some half-decent pictures.
<sigh>
I’ll have to work on this for next time. More fruit, no water, add orange juice. Because the first time I made it, c’était si bon. The second time – too much doctoring. Third time will have to be the charm … bon courage à moi! Because I need a little encouragement after this little disaster.
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