Balsamic Blueberry Frost

This violet-colored sorbet is perfect for after dinner or as a palate cleanser. It has a deep blueberry flavor with mild sweetness...primarily the natural sweetness of the blueberries. When the sorbet is cold out of the freezer the vinegar is not all that discernible, but as the sorbet warms up, the sweet balsamic flavor comes through...just FYI for those who are a bit sketchy when it comes to vinegar.

The recipe below is adapted from a recipe for Strawberry Balsamic Sorbet that I found on the Mayo Clinic site. Another cool thing about it is that if you let it melt, you've got a good base for a blueberry salad dressing. I used frozen organic blueberries, which worked perfectly.

Here's my version of the recipe:
4 cups frozen organic blueberries, thawed
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raw agave

Pour the vinegar into a sauce pan and let it "cook" over very low heat until reduced by half...it should be thick and syrupy when ready. Blend the blueberries, balsamic reduction, and agave in a food processor until very smooth (several minutes). If you blend it enough, there's no need for passing it through a fine mesh to extract solids...or at least not in my opinion. Transfer the mixture into a glass bowl, cover and put it in the freezer. Stir the sorbet every 1/2 hour or so until frozen through.

The vinegar in the recipe allows the sorbet to freeze without becoming like ice. You end up with a nicely textured sorbet that is perfectly "scoopable," not too sweet, and quite healthy.

You may have noticed in the photo that the sorbet is sitting on top of a collection of Robert Frost poems. What gives? Well, this is also my entry in the Home Baked Challenge, hosted by Hannah over at the Home Baked blog. It's a very fun idea: every month she selects a broad theme--entries have to be edible and made by the contestants--those are the only two requirements. It just sings creativity.

January's challenge theme is "Frost." So although making a frosty sorbet is not very original, it is double-edged: I selected blueberries in reference to a poem by Robert Frost called Blueberries. Temperatures may be frosty at the moment, yet through this poem, we are reminded of the pleasure of picking ripe berries in the heat of summer. 

And finally, I wanted to express my solidarity with the people of Haiti. My thoughts and heart are with them. We've donated to a couple charities for the earthquake relief, but I also wanted to pass on this link to Craft Hope for Haiti; it's an Etsy shop and all the proceeds go to Doctor's Without Borders for victims of the earthquake.