Blueberry Basil Sorbet

If you read this blog regularly then you are probably saying to yourself right now, "Blueberries again?"  Yes it is true.  I have a lot of blueberry recipes on my site.  But who can blame me?  The little blue gems of sweet juice are addicting! I pick them in the summer and eat them all year long.  As a result, you will continue to see some blueberries recipes from me.

This week's scoop was inspired by a dessert I ate at Domenica in New Orleans.  After a hearty gourmet pizza dinner, I decided to squeeze in a bit of dessert - Peach Cake with Blueberry Basil Sorbetto and Salted Caramel. 

The entire dessert sounded enticing, but I primarily ordered the dish to try the house-made blueberry basil sorbet (surprise, surprise).  Although the caramel overpowered the dish a bit, the flavor combination superb.  Many recipes ago I fell in love with Basil Ice Cream, but the idea of combining basil and blueberries never crossed my mind.  The earthiness and slight anise flavor of the basil paired very well with the sweet and tart flavor of the blueberries.  When I returned home I knew I needed to attempt a replication. 

Below is my rendition of Blueberry Basil Sorbet.  I love the dark blue-purple color.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Basil Sorbet
Makes 3 pints

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
1/4 cup packed basil (10 g)
1 pound fresh or frozen blueberries (about 1 1/2 pints)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons good quality gin 

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium.  Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and add basil to pan.  Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place blueberries in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth (if you are using frozen blueberries, defrost first).  After basil has steeped in sugar mixture, remove basil leaves and pour into blender.  Pulse until combined.  Add lemon juice and gin and pulse.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl and pour sorbet base through the sieve to remove skin and seeds. 

Cover bowl and place in refrigerator to fully chill, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Once chilled, pour base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Place plastic or parchment over sorbet (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Comments

[Anders@icecreamnation.org]

Like yourself, I simply love blueberries ... I even spent some time in the woods today, collecting a cup or so of the wild ones ... gone almost as quickly as they were collected, however;-). I've never combined blueberries with basil, but you made it sound like a convincing combination - thanks for this interesting idea (and the recipe, of course).

[FrozenNorth]

Wow this is good! I was looking for a blueberry basil sorbet recipe to replicate one I've had in various restaurants in Toronto, and this one is better. Thank you for the recipe!