Spicy Strawberry Sorbet

I made a mango sorbet a few weeks ago. Mom brought a few very ripe mangoes from home, and I used a sorbet recipe from my book. I'm a mango-on-the-side kind of fan...I normally cannot tolerate it on its own. But let me just say this was some great sorbet. We picked up sweet sticky rice from the Thai place, and this made for a very tasty treat.

I'm going to try it again for my gourmet event next month. In the meantime, I want to rave about my new favorite sorbet: spicy strawberry.

I've made it twice now, each a bit different. I think I like the consistency of the first batch better, but I like the flavor of the second batch more. The difference (I believe) is 2-fold: (1) strain the strawberry purée, and (2) beat the snot out of the peppercorns so more of them crack.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons black peppercorns, crushed coarse
1 quart strawberries (preferably local), hulled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste


Preparation:

In a saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peppercorns and remove pan from heat. Cover pan and let syrup stand 1 hour.

Strain syrup through a fine sieve into a food processor or blender and discard peppercorns. Purée hulled strawberries with syrup until very smooth and force though sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds and other solids. Stir in vinegar and chill, covered, until cold. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker.


Last Sunday, I made this for the gourmet club. I beat the peppercorns with a rolling pin and a hammer, and not many of them really cracked--therefore, it was a very light spice in the sorbet. Very nice, but I would have preferred a bit more kick.

Today, I made this for me. I didn't want to take the time to strain the strawberry mash, and now I think it is well worth the step--otherwise, it's still has a lot of air bubbles, which will make for a cotton candy-like texture around day 2. Also, I broke my omlette pan pounding the peppercorns, but it was worth it. More of the oils were released in the syrup-making process.

More to post later...I've taken pictures of my latest home make-over room (the office!). When they're developed, I'll post some here.