Clementine & Campari Sorbetto

Winter doesn't often inspire one to make a sorbetto, but it is not often that clementines are in season. I buy them by the crate and juice them for breakfast or roast thin slices of the citrus with a nice fillet of fish. Today, I am making a refreshing sorbetto dessert. Clementines and Campari seemed like a natural pairing. Campari is a typical Italian apertivo cocktail drink with soda. I added it here as a bitter balance to the sweetness of the citrus and simple syrup mixture.
Check out this artful Campari ad made in 1968 ......



CLEMENTINE & CAMPARI SORBETTO
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup water
12 clementines {tangerines would be a good substitute}.
1 Meyer lemon {if not available, use a regular lemon}
2 Tablespoons Campari

To make the simple syrup:
In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat until simmering, but not boiling.
Once the sugar has dissolved in the water, remove the sugar syrup from the heat to cool.

I recently started using organic cane sugar and I love the taste, texture and color. When cooking in the simple syrup, it takes on a caramel taste and color, which I think adds more richness to the sorbetto.



Zest and juice the clementines and place in a large mixing bowl. Juice the lemon and add to the clementine juice and zest. Whisk in the cooled cane sugar. Add the Campari and taste for sweetness. {This citrus and campari mixtures would also be a great drink to add as a festive flavoring to prosecco}. Cover and chill the mixture until ready to freeze.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker directions.

NOTE: I love my Simac gelataio maker. It takes little maintenance and consistently churns out ice cream and sorbets in about 30 minutes. Although mine is many years old and Simac no longer makes this model, there are newer Simac models and other good ice cream machines on the market. Check out some by clicking here.

Buon appetito!
copyright 2008 Alisa Barry