Vegan Star Anise and Roast Plum Sorbet

Its September and it is still very warm here in Wales, the sun has been shining pretty much every single day, with barely a drizzle of rain.  The day begins overcast and grey, but by mid-day the sun is out warming us up....so ice-cream or sorbet in my case is a welcome change.

I made this Star Anise and Plum Sorbet a couple of weeks back with my home grown plums.  I remembered stumbling across a packet of star anise, stashed at the bottom or one of my spice jars.  Star anise is one of the prettiest spices I have ever set eyes on. I thought it would be a nice addition to what may have been a plain plum sorbet.

I know I should have allowed the sorbet to sit a little to soften when I took it out of the freezer, as it would have been easy to scoop out perfect ball for the photograph, but I was being impatient as it was getting dark. If you look at the last image, it shows the Plum Sorbet beginning to melt and looking more 'creamish'. But I must say, this Plum Sorbet is unlike my previous sorbets, it is not snow icy at all.  Its a lot more smoother and richer, its sharp and has a lovely twang.  The star anise is detectable, but not overpowering, but it is not shy on kissing you on the lips either.  

And finally the colour, so pretty - it reminded me of a shimmering blusher that I once used to wear in my younger days. Ahhhh soft dimpled rosy cheeks. 

Strawberry Sorbet of Sorts

After my success with the Rhubarb sorbet,  Rosemary and Lemon sorbet and much more recently with Orange and Chilli Granita,  I had decided to make one from the Honeydew Melon that my husband had bought to sit and look golden pretty in the fruit bowl.  I also decided to make one with the last of the strawberries in the garden, so that is the one that I will share with you today.  I followed a really simple recipe that I made a few good years ago.  The photograph directly below is from that post that I dubbed 'Strawberry Ice Roses'.  It was such a lovely sweet dessert that I was looking for a reason to make it again and with it being so hot, that reason alone was enough.

Orange and Chilli Granita

I know its snowing heavily in some parts of the U.K, and the last thing some people want to see is a recipe for something cold and icy, but in my defence the flakes of chilli in this granita will give you a little warmth, if not a little fire.  

This recipe is an adaptation of my  Lemon and Rosemary version; and its proved to be quite popular amongst my taste testers - the  young nephew and my husband - the chief taste tester.   I also made a coffee version of granita but that did not go down so well, main criticism for that one was it was not strong enough, fair enough. 

I am sharing this Orange and Chilli Granita with Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate of What Kate Baked for their Tea Time Treats. The theme for January is citrus; as well as One Ingredient with Laura of How to Cook Good Food and Nazima of Franglais Kitchen who are featuring on orange this month. 

Orange and Chilli Granita
You will need a food processor for this recipe
Ingredients
Juice and zest of 5 unwaxed oranges
300g sugar
1 3/4 pints of water
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes or to taste
Method
Gently bring all the ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently until all the sugar has melted. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then remove from the heat and leave it to cool.
When cool enough, pour into a suitable plastic container and freeze. Freeze, then after an hour or so take out of freezer and blend in food processor, pour back into container and freeze for another hour or so, then remove from freeze and blend again. This is to ensure that there are no mass of ice, but soft crystals. Then freeze. Twice should be enough, but you may want to do it a third time if you want softer crystals.

Lemon and Rosemary Sorbet

I think I may have mentioned before that there was once a time, when the needle like herb known as rosemary would be ignored by myself in culinary challenges.  It was one of those herbs that hardly featured in any o f my home cooking.  Of course, this has all changed.  I now view rosemary as a wonderful woody herb with a heady fragrance.  I can't get enough of the stuff, not only do I use it in savoury dishes, popcorn, in hot 'fruity' drinks, but puddings and sweet bakes too.  As my regular readers will know, to great success I recently used it in my Rhubarb and Rosemary Scones.  I will only ever use it in its fresh form though, dry...well its just a twig.   But even when fresh, you have to be careful, too much and yes it could be medicinal. 

I don't make sorbets much, the truth is sorbet for me is just an adults slush puppy and ice cold zingy lemon does not always appeal to me, but my husband loves the stuff so its for him I oblige, even when it is raining and ice cold outside. 

This Lemon and Rosemary Sorbet is also my first entry for Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream which was started by Kavey.

Lemon and Rosemary Sorbet
You will need a food processor for this recipe.
Ingredients
Juice and zest of 5 unwaxed lemons
300g sugar
1 3/4 pints of water
Sprig of fresh rosemary
Method
Gently bring everything to a boil, stirring frequently until all the sugar has melted. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then remove from the heat and leave it to cool. when cool, strain and discard the zest and rosemary sprig.
When cool enough, pour into a suitable plastic container and freeze. Freeze, then after an hour take out of freezer and blend in food processor, pour back into container and freeze for another hour or so, then remove from freeze and blend again. This is to ensure that there are no mass of ice, but soft crystals. Then freeze. Twice should be enough, but you may want to do it a third time if you want softer crystals.

Strawberry Ice Roses

or would you prefer strawberry fields forever?
I have often wondered what the difference was between Sorbet and Granita? As both contain the same ingredients and are dairy free. The main difference between them is texture created by the freezing process. Sorbets are smoother due to the churning, or beating during freezing. Whereas granitas are not stirred in any way while freezing, which makes the texture is somewhat crystalline and are more like ice granules when scraped and heaped into serving dishes. Which ever you prefer, both are excellent thirst quenchers. Although I don't have many strawberries growing now, the small wild strawberries, also known as alpine strawberries are still fruiting.

I made this over a month ago, when the strawberries at the allotment plot were ripening faster than I could eat them fresh. After success with the rhubarb sorbet and the rosemary and lemon sorbet. I had decided to make a strawberry version a way to make the strawberry flavours last through the autumn and winter seasons.

This is also my contribution to Grow your own (GYO) a brilliant idea which was started by Andrea Meyer of Andrea's Recipes. GYO celebrated its Second Year Anniversary last month. I really enjoy contributing to this food blogger event as it supports the principle behind my blog that celebrates the foods we grow ourselves. GYO# 36 is being hosted by Dido of Mowgli Chic.

Strawberry Sorbet or is it a strawberry granita - You decide!
You will also need a large freezer tub.
Ingredients
500g ripe strawberries
175g caster sugar
1 pint water
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Method
First hull the strawberries, then put them in a colander and rinse briefly with cold water. Drain well and then quarter them, before transferring them to a food processor. Blend to a smooth puree, then add the sugar and blend again very briefly. After that add the water and lemon juice, blend one more. Pour into freezer box, cover with lid and put into freezer for 2 hours.
Remove from freezer, put back into food processor and blend until the ice has broken down, pour back into container and put back into freezer. You will have to repeat this process twice more to achieve that smooth texture. Adapted from a Delia Smith recipe.

Light Pink Rhubarb sorbet

I took over the pumpkin and courgette seeds that have successfully germinated on the window sill at home to the plots greenhouse. I think it is safe from those mice now, but the slugs might be the next to attack them, so cautiously I surrounded them with some crushed egg shells.

Everything at the plot is starting to look sprightly now, especially the herbs, green and fragrant, the peas clinging onto the string, and the broad beans starting to stand upright of their own will. Hopefully, there won't be too much in the way of strong winds while we are away, or any unwelcome visitors at the plot! As always we have asked our trusty neighbour to cast an eye over the plot now and again, as well as water the plants in the greenhouse, he as always has kindly agreed. He is so good to us.

Like any passionate grower of fruit or veg, I don't really want to leave my plot or any of my seedlings and plants, but my long overdue honeymoon in Paris beckons.
Before I fly out to Paris, I thought I would share with you a seasonal recipe: Rhubarb sorbet. Good for a day like today, when the sunshine had finally decided to join us in Scotland. These cherry blossoms growing at our local park contrast with the colour of the rhubarb sorbet so well.

Sorbet is ridiculously easy to make. Here it is for those of you wondering what else to do with all that rhubarb that is suddenly appearing on the market shelves, at farmers markets or even in your veg box. This sorbet is light, pink and very, very sharp not one for the faint hearted.
Rhubarb sorbet
Ingredients
600g Rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 - 2 lemons
450g sugar
Method
Dissolve sugar in 600ml water, then bring to the boil. Boil for a couple of minutes, then turn off and allow to cool. Put rhubarb pieces into a saucepan with the orange juice. Simmer on low heat until the rhubarb is tender. Leave to cool.

When both the rhubarb and sugar syrup are cool, pour into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste and then pour the mixture into a plastic container with a lid and freeze. After about an hour and half, remove from the freezer and put the iced rhubarb into the food processor and blend. Put the icy mixture back into the freezer and repeat the process one more time. Transfer to the fridge 20 minutes before yo wish to serve the rhubarb sorbet.