TOMATO INGREDIENT STUDY NO. 1:
Ingredient study session part deux, starts now. It is August, the days are long and the humidity hovering makes me feel like I've been exercising all day, which isn't the case. When my body is faced with heat and humidity there is little I can do to jumpstart it again. It seems as though it is best to just sit and wait it out in a paralyzed meditative pose. I don't dare eat anything that might increase my body temperature for fear that the glaze of sweat might increase to dripping status. Instead, I'll snack on cold blueberries, and yes I'll pop a few cherry tomatoes pretending they are candy. Let's face it tomatoes are candy-like; they even come in a range of colors rivaling the skittles rainbow.
The prospects are endless for the tomato. The tomato is like that girl in high school that won Best Smile, Most likely to succeed, Best Hair, Most popular, most likely to win all other awards award. When faced with so many possibilities where do you begin. It seems like tomatoes can be used in almost anything. My first reaction was to start out our ingredient study on the tomato in the most unpredictable manner. So every instinct I had to utilize the tomato, I chose the exact opposite. Savory or Sweet? Sweet. Hot dessert or cold treat? Cold. Thus my final conclusion was to embark on a cold dessert showcasing the tomato; which will no doubt aid in combating the heat stroke described above.
Every farmstand I have visited recently has had an abundant display of tomatoes: green, red, orange, zebra, heirloom, grape, cherry. Why limit the scope of a sorbet by picking just one, so I used a variety to create this fruity sorbet that had a seemingly creamy texture like a gelato.
RECIPE: This recipe is so simple, you can make it more complicated by adding other fresh ingredients. I found a recipe for tomato sorbet online then adapted it. These ratios create a medium sized batch of sorbet.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of tomatoes ( I used green heirlooms, red, a zebra, and a few cherry tomatoes)
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1 cup of raspberries
- 1 cup of sugar
- Fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
Directions:
- Peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes. At this point make sure the chopped tomatoes weigh 2 pounds.
- In a large-sized pan combine the tomatoes, raspberries, water, and sugar. On low heat, cook the mixture for 1 hour. Stir every once in awhile add ingredients as you wish.
- Let the cool, then pour the mixture in to a blender or food processor. Puree. Add the juice from one lemon. Then blend again.
- Run the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove raspberry seeds. You might need to push it along with a spatula.
- Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the directions that are provided by the ice cream manufacturer.