Pear and Blood Orange Sorbet

I wish I could have asked you, when you first saw this picture, to close your eyes and try to guess what flavor the sorbet was. You would have guessed raspberry, wouldn't you?  Or some other lovely pink fruit, grapefruit, perhaps?  But you would have been wrong.  The gorgeous pink color is from the juice of a blood orange, those deliciously red-colored oranges that are available now, in the middle of winter, for another few weeks at most.  So make this soon, or you'll have to wait until next winter!

We all know by now how much I love my little ice cream maker.  But this sorbet took it to a whole new level -- a combination of two of my favorite desserts!  Silky, smooth poached pears, and chilly, delicious ice cream.  Throw in the sweet tang of a blood orange, and you're looking at a really fine dessert. 

I used pears from the farmer's market, which are easy to find throughout the winter.  I buy them every week so I can have pear slices with cheese as a snack or light dinner, but this week, I wanted to do something a little bit different.  These pears were so ripe, I could almost have used them without poaching first, but I wanted to make sure all the flavors incorporated really well, and that the wine and syrup was all mixed up in the taste of the pears, so I poached them before pureeing them. 

What else can I say about this little sorbet except, go make it right now?  Go!

Pear and Blood Orange Sorbet

INGREDIENTS:

2 large bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters

2 blood oranges

4 cups water

2/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium-size pot, heat water and sugar to a boil, and stir so that all the sugar dissolves.

2. Add the pears and white wine, and boil until reduced by about 2/3, then turn the heat down to a simmer.

3. When syrup is reduced and pears are fork-tender, remove pears and puree them in a food processor.

4. Squeeze the juice of the two blood oranges into the simmering syrup and water mixture.

5. Return the pear puree to the syrup, and stir until incorporated.

6. Remove the mixture from the stovetop, place into a heat-proof bowl and refrigerate until cooled completely (about 1 hour).

7. Place the cooled mixture in your ice cream maker and churn for about 40 minutes, or until sorbet is one large, somewhat firm lump. Freeze until ready to serve.

Makes about three cups of sorbet.

Last, but not least, I'm submitting the first picture to this month's Click! photo competition.