Pear and Red Wine Sorbet
- Total Time
- 1 hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 2½pounds ripe pears (4 medium to large pears, like Bartlett pears)
- ½cup sugar, preferably organic fair-trade
- 1½cups red wine
- 1½cups water
- 12- or 3-inch cinnamon stick
- ½teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Nutritional analysis per serving (20 servings)
68 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 2 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Peel, core and quarter the pears. Place them in a medium saucepan with the sugar, red wine, water, cinnamon stick and vanilla extract. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the pears are soft and translucent. This will take 15 to 20 minutes if the pears are ripe and soft to begin with, or about 30 minutes if they’re somewhat hard. Add the pepper.
- Step 2
Using tongs, remove the pears to a bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick from the poaching liquid, and discard. Turn up the heat, and reduce until the mixture has the consistency of a thin syrup. (This step may be unnecessary, depending on how long you cooked the pears and how juicy they were.)
- Step 3
Place the pears, in batches, in a blender, or place all of them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Purée until smooth. Slowly add the poaching liquid and the lemon juice, and blend together. Transfer to a bowl, and chill. Meanwhile, place a 1-quart container in the freezer.
- Step 4
Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to the chilled container, and freeze for at least two hours before serving. If frozen solid, allow to soften in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer.
Private Notes
Comments
It helps to have the sorbet slurry cooled completely before putting it in the ice cream maker, by at least 4 hours. Also, Bartlett pears work nicely, Boscs are too woody. Any red wine is nice, but between the Merlot I used in one batch and a semi-sweet table wine I used in another, the semi-sweet wine worked better. Lastly, the instructions are vague when it comes to how much the liquor needs to reduce. Overall, a really lovely dessert!
This was fantastic and exactly what I had hoped it would be. I used Bartlett pears and a mix of red wines I had on hand. I put a little Meyer lemon rind in the cooking liquid too. I don't have an ice cream maker. This worked out fine by freezing in a baking dish. Then I put the thin frozen chunks into food processor and re-processed until really airy and creamy. Will make this again!
This is wonderful. Complex, fruity and refreshing. I did not chill it enough before putting it into the freezer and had to serve slushies instead of sorbet, but it was still a wonderful dessert.
Before chilling, the mix was bland. Added a pinch of salt, which I'd say is necessary. Used vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract, and simmered pods with other ingredients. Used Espelette pepper instead of black pepper. It's fruity and aromatic with a lovely subtle heat that really enhanced the sorbet. Thank you NYT--great tip to freeze the container in advance. The result was amazing--taste, texture, sweetness--perfect. Served with homemade Almondina cookies to guests' raves.
I created a dinner party around this sorbet - it is THAT good! This is one of the best things I made this year. I was not sure how the red wine would meld with the pears, at first. Yet, I am blown away by this sorbet. It is bright and light with complex flavors. I used overripe pears. Be careful with the cinnamon- remove it after a good steep. The color is muted - not as bright as the picture. No worries. I boiled the syrup down considerably. It was the perfect syrup to bring the flavor of the pears together. Make this.
I have an ice cream maker, and the recipe worked fine the usual way. After preparing the pears and wine as instructed, I processed the chilled mix in the ice cream maker then transferred to a chilled container for freezing. Of course, we sampled a bit of the soft sorbet before sending to the freezer. Delicious! Will make again.
Advertisement