Receta Basil Peach Sorbet
“Weird is good.”
I don’t know if my mom indoctrinated me with that statement to make me feel better about my innate weirdness or her innate weirdness. For a long time it wasn’t my choice about whether or not I was weird. My mom had my hair cut asymmetrically. My mom clothed me in jewelry and accessories found at art shows rather than a J.C. Penny’s catalog. My mom had me retort “Weird is good!” whenever someone challenged my eccentricities.
I’m not saying this forlornly. And I don’t wish it was any different. I’m just trying to let you understand why I gravitate off the beaten path. The Omnivore requested peach sorbet. I replied with basil peach sorbet. He wanted normal. I gave him weird.
It took him awhile to get over the name of his dessert. He sort of grimaced as he took his first bite. And then he loved it. Just like he loves my weirdness. He didn’t necessarily love the pureed basil leaf flecks I’d accidentally included in the final product (I didn’t mind), so you may want to pull those out of the sorbet recipe as directed in the instructions below.
The basil in this sorbet is as prominent as the peach but it is wonderful. If you are nervous, you can probably use fewer leaves. The texture was smooth rather than icy and I know I’ll be making this again before peach season is gone.
Basil Peach Sorbet (from James Beard Foundation)
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 8 basil leaves
- 4 ripe peaches, peeled and pitted
Instructions
Bring the sugar, water, and basil to a boil in a small pot. Gently simmer 10 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool. Strain the syrup to remove the basil.
Purée the syrup with the peaches until smooth in a food processor blender. Let cool.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker, pour the mix into a metal bowl, place it in the freezer, and whisk every 30 minutes until frozen, about 6 hours total.