This is one of those weeks that calls for a quiet simplicity to my dessert. Something unfussy, deliciously straightforward, cleansing. Because inside, I feel like this. And this. What can I say? I have a nasty habit for biting off more than I can chew, spreading myself far too thin (it's funny how many food-based sayings there are for this situation). This week, there's a Big Deal workshop that I'm co-running at school, and not only do I have to take care of all these organizational details, but I'm also supposed to give a talk there in front of all the Big Wigs who are coming (somebody just shoot me now, because that's a much more pleasant fate than standing up there in front of people who are 10,0000-gazillion times smarter than I am, who will be looking at me, the polite few will be kind enough to wear these fake smiles and nod gently even though they are smiles and nods of pity, and the not-so-polite few will no doubt just tear me apart in the Q&A session. Just thinking about it makes me want to find a giant rock-cave and crawl into it, never to appear again.) Then, we're also running way late on our sated schedule, and my life in general is just. a. mess. Despite how everything looks clean and put together here on the blog, know that it's my happy place, my simple place, where I go to get away from the disintegrating chaos that is my week. *deep breaths.*
So this white grape sorbet, a counterpoint to the dark and boldly purple concord grape sorbet that I made last year, is the perfect therapy for this week. The sorbet is made from these absolutely beautiful green grapes that my mom brought me a few weeks back. They were perfect and rustic specimens of grapes, slightly bruised light purple in some areas, clumped tightly together on the stems, with leaves still winding around the clusters and pockets of cobwebs hidden inside. I love it when I get grapes like this, which look real like how grapes fresh off the vines should look and not like the plastic-ky, cleaned-up versions of grapes that you see floating in cellophane bags in the supermarkets. The grapes and the sorbet taste equally clean, with a mild sweetness, refreshing and quietly subtle.
Wish me luck with this week--I'll see you at the end of it, if I survive!
Read on for recipe....
White Grape Sorbet
850 g white grapes, stemmed (should yield about 800 g of grapes)
1/4 cup (58 g) water
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
1 Tbspn white wine
1. Combine the grapes and water in a saucepan. Cover and cook, stirring periodically, for about 4 to 7 minutes until the grapes are soft and have released their juices.
2. Remove from heat and press the grapes through a fine mesh strainer to extract all of the liquid.
3. Add the sugar and wine to the grape juice. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly and freeze in an ice cream maker of choice. Sorbet is done churning when it is the consistency of a thick, pourable smoothie.
5. Transfer to a container and continue freezing until firm, about 3 to 4 hours.
adapted from David Lebovitz with a nod to Jeni's Ice Cream for sorbet-churning tips.
Enjoy!