Everyone has that one particular place where they feel most inspired. Where ideas rush into the mind, after which comes excitement and the urge to do and create. For me, this place has always been the kitchen. All the things I see and like in life somehow end up influencing our meals. During my day job, I often think about the foods I will prepare and the ways we will present and photograph them.
And like most inspired cooks, I am very influenced by the season and weather. We come home from the beach, Paloma covered in sand from head to toe, salt in our hair. This is when I can’t help but picture what should be on our table after a day in the water and sun.
One of our mandatory stops in Paris was Berthillon ice cream on the Île Saint-Louis. Never mind the long line, we returned to it twice. We knew ahead of time exactly what flavours to try, but jet lag made us silly, and we showed up not knowing their French names. After a short communication with a very efficient server, we got what we got, and it wasn’t what we planned for, but it was better. Among those unexpected treats was a heavenly grapefruit sorbet that I’ve been thinking about ever since.
At home, I attempted to make it the way I’ve done every other sorbet before. But grapefruit behaved differently once frozen, it turned into hard ice. After some investigation, I realized that this specific fruit requires a small amount of alcohol in order to retain a creamy sorbet texture. The alcohol does not freeze and prevents the sorbet from turning hard. (Do you know of any other ways?)
The idea to combine grapefruit with carrot came from one of our favourite juice combinations – carrot, grapefruit, and ginger. I didn’t add ginger to the sorbet, but served it with these crunchy ginger snap cookies instead. So good, especially if you don’t mind the bitter notes of grapefruit. And how can I not mention the brilliant orange colour? To me, that’s the hue that best represents summer, sun, and heat.
Talk about being influenced by the season.
Grapefruit Carrot Sorbet
4 grapefruits – pulp and juice (about 3 cups)
1 cup fresh carrot juice
1/4 cup raw honey or agave
1 cup purified water
3 tablespoons vodka
Blend all of the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Chill well and put into an ice cream maker for 25 minutes or however long your brand of ice cream machine suggests. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
Gingersnap Cookies
2 cups ground raw almonds – preferably soaked and dehydrated
1/2 cup sprouted pecan butter or almond butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raw honey or another sweetener
3 teaspoons ground ginger or more to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt – optional
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients well to form the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper or Teflex sheets, forming an even thickness. Cut out the cookies of desired shape, and carefully transfer them to screened dehydrator trays. Reform the dough that remains after cutting, then re-roll and re-cut again. Dehydrate the cookies at 115F for about 16 hours or until nice and crunchy.
I would really like to meet you Golubka……… you totally inspire me ♥
Woha! I want to eat it right away! bathe in those sunny colours<3 How much does the alcohol affect the overall flavor?
Bliss and Love
may be that pectin will help??
( boil organic grapefruit skins in some water to obtain natural pectin)
but alcohol can be nice, like orange liqueur…
what about using some irish moss paste?
such a beautiful post! I can’t wait to try berthillon when I’m in paris next. but until then, I have golubka to provide me with gorgeous food revelations!
You really expressed it well…we dream during the day of what we will create in the kitchen. I finally identify with people through blogging. I can get lost on a trip or even at the market visualizing how I could photograph something. BTW, I have a sorbet and shortbread post that is going up today. We were on the same wave length!
What a wonderful combination of flavours. I can just imagine the sweet refreshing grapefruit against the spicy ginger cookie. Amazing!
xo
Looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it.
Thanks so much for the comments, guys!
Kasi, sending love your way. Maybe one day we’ll meet.
Elenore, thank you. You can’t really taste the alcohol at all.
Mamapasta, good idea! Orange liqueur would be really nice.
Connie, good idea. I’ve seen raw ice cream recipes that call for Irish moss before. Wondering how it would behave in a sorbet. I guess the only way to find out is to try :)
What a gorgeous post! Your photos are lovely and your writing style too. Dont even get me started on the recipe! I adore sorbet (mango sorbet is my achilles heel of the frozen treat world) and this just looks divine! :)
Looks divinely delcious :)♥
Looks awesome! Wonder what else would work besides the vodka (allergic to alcohol…)?
At Elizabeth’s Gone Raw, we just fall in love with your blog! what a delicious, smart and creative recipes! and what an amazing photography too! thanks for such a eye treat. and please spread the “raw”
don’t forget to visit us at http://elizabethsgonerawblog.blogspot.com/
That looks good. Wierd that paloma is actually standing still long enough to take a picture. I miss her so much!
Using carrots probably adds just that bit of sweetness to counter the sour grapefruit and keeps it healthy. Sounds like an amazing summer treat that I will have to try soon!
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
Amazing combo and creation for a hot tropical day, even appropriate for happy hour. Love the descriptions and photography, looking forward to your next inspiring entry.
You’re the best. This sorbet looks and sounds awesome. I wish I could get my hands on some now but I’m on vacation in Thailand. I have to buy an icecream maker when I get back home :)
this looks so great! thanks for sharing
So cute and I love all the orange color : )
Made the ginger snap cookies… found my husband sneaking one of them last night.. Oh, that’s right… he tells me he doesn’t like raw food. Victory is mine :)
Perfect for this days!
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