Recipe for Ruby Grapefruit and Pomegranate Sorbet
It can be served at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a meal and would make a delicious light refreshing starter on Christmas Day.
1 litre (1¾ pint) ruby grapefruit juice (10 grapefruit approx.)
225g (8oz) castor sugar approx
1 egg white (optional)
1-2 pomegranates
:
2 pink grapefruit cut into segments
Pomegranate seeds
Fresh mint leaves
8 chilled white side plates
Put the freshly squeezed grapefruit into a bowl add the sugar and dissolve by stirring it into the juice. Taste. The juice should taste rather too sweet to drink, it will loose some of its sweetness in the freezing.
Cut the pomegranates in half around the ‘equator’. Open out and carefully flick the seeds into a bowl, discard the skin and all the yellow membrane.
Make the sorbet in one of the following ways.
: Pour into the drum of an ice-cream maker or sorbetiere and freeze for 20-25 minutes. Fold in the pomegranate seeds. Scoop out and serve immediately or store in a covered bowl in the freezer until needed.
: Pour the juice into a stainless steel or plastic container and put into the freezer. After about 4-5 hours when the sorbet is semi frozen remove and whisk until granular. Return to freezer. Repeat several times. When almost frozen fold in the pomegranate seeds. Keep covered in the freezer until needed.
: If you have a food processor, simply freeze the sorbet completely in a covered stainless steel or plastic bowl, then break into large pieces and whizz up in the food processor for a few seconds.
Add one slightly beaten egg white, whizz again for another few seconds, then return to the bowl. Fold in the pomegranate seeds. Freeze again until needed.
: Chill the plates in a refrigerator or freezer. Put 1 or 2 scoops of sorbet on each chilled plate, garnish with a few segments of pink grapefruit. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, spoon a little grapefruit juice over the segments and decorate with fresh mint leaves.
Ruby Grapefruit Sorbet: As above, but omit the pomegranate seeds.
