Blueberry Red Wine Sorbet

If you're like me, the last few days have been spent doing your best to cool off. We're in the midst of a heat wave in this normally cool city, so I went to my kitchen full of fresh fruit and put together the perfect cure.

Imagine the deepest magenta sorbet full of the freshest blueberry flavor combined with the earthy richness of a good red wine and the slight subtle backnote of spice. What you get is a light and refreshing cold slush that will leave you more than satisfied after a light summer meal. Or even after a substantial grilled menu, come to think of it.

Blueberries are the treasured fruit of the healthy diet and are found in abundance just about everywhere. As the temperatures rise this season, ice cream, sorbet and granita seem the perfect antidote. There are dozens of fabulous recipes full of wonderful ingredients to try, so let’s get started!



Bench notes:
- Crème de cassis is a wonderful liqueur made from black currants in the Burgundy region of France. I use Chermette. The liqueur lends a bit of sweetness and a rich berry depth to the sorbet base. Crème de cassis was originally produced by 16th century monks as a cure for disease and wretchedness. Incidentally, it is the favorite drink of Agatha Christie’s fictional detective, Hercule Poirot!
- I sometimes throw a sprig of rosemary in the simmering wine. It adds a delicious herbal backnote.



Blueberry Red Wine Sorbet

3 C fruity red wine, such as zinfandel or merlot
2/3 C water
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise and seeds scraped
1/4 C crème de cassis liqueur
2 T lemon juice, to taste
4 cloves
4 black peppercorns
2 pints fresh blueberries (about 4 C)

Combine wine, water, sugar, vanilla bean, cassis, lemon juice, cloves and peppercorns in a large saucepan over low heat. Simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Strain out the spices and vanilla bean. Cool.

Blend some of the liquid and blueberries in a food processor or blender until blueberries are smooth. Pour into a fine mesh strainer placed over a large bowl. Keep processing in batches until you have the entire mixture liquefied and strained. Taste for more lemon juice. Chill in covered container overnight.

Freeze the blueberry mixture in your ice cream maker. Pour into a container, cover the surface with a piece of plastic wrap and place the lid on tight. Place in the freezer to firm up.

Oatmeal Shortcake with Plums

My obsession with oatmeal continues. And it can only be matched by my current obsession with plums. Until figs arrive (I’m hearing perhaps next week!), I have been buying lots of plums along with all the other wonderful stone fruit available now. And since shortcake seems to be the fun and fast dessert of the moment, it’s time to give this great combination a try.

As with the Cornmeal Shortcake with Peaches I posted a couple of weeks ago, this comes together fairly quickly but you do have to be gentle when mixing the dough for the shortcake. The thing that makes them so delicious is very little handling so as not to develop the gluten in the flour. The result is a tender and delicious base for some lightly spiced plums and billows of whipped cream.

The brown sugar in the shortcakes adds a rich flavor that goes so well with the toasty oatmeal. I’ve added some cinnamon to both the shortcake and the fruit and cooked some of the plums to create a jammy sauce for the fresh fruit and cream. I love the beautiful colors and the simple yet irresistible way to enjoy all these natural ingredients. Set this plate on your table and see what happens.


Bench notes:
- The butter and buttermilk must be very cold. Work fast so they stay cold.
- The dough is very sticky, but you won’t be handling it much more than a few seconds, only gently patting it into shape. Just be sure you dust your hands and the work surface very lightly with flour. Keep the flour and the mixing to a minimum to avoid toughening the end product.
- You can add lemon or orange zest or finely chopped nuts to the shortcake dough for more variation.
- This shortcake would also taste great with peaches, blackberries, cherries or caramelized apples or bananas. Top with yogurt for a lighter and tangier garnish.


Oatmeal Shortcakes with Plums
Serves 6

2 C flour
1/2 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 t cinnamon
3 oz cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 C cold buttermilk
Coarse sugar (I use turbinado raw)

9 ripe plums
3 – 4 T sugar, to taste
2 t fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/8 t cinnamon

1 C cold heavy cream
2 t sugar, to taste
1/2 t vanilla

Cut plums in half and remove pits. Slice 6 plums thinly and toss with a splash of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside.

Coarsely chop the remaining 3 plums and place in a saucepan with about 3 tablespoons of water. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon and simmer over low heat until the plums begin to soften and release their juices. Taste for sugar and add more if needed. When the plums look saucy, remove from heat and add lemon juice to taste. Cool. You can either puree the sauce or leave it chunky.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment.

Whisk together the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the pieces of butter and use a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Work quickly so the butter stays firm and cold. Add the buttermilk all at once and stir gently with a fork just until it begins to come together in clumps. Do not overmix. The dough will be sticky.

Dust your hands lightly with flour and gather the dough clumps in your hand. Place any unincorporated flour on a clean work surface or a piece of parchment and set the dough on top of that. Gently pat the dough together with your hands. Shape it into an 8” round and either cut into 6 wedges or use a round cutter dipped in flour and cut out 6 biscuits.

Place the shortcakes on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with some cream or milk and sprinkle the tops generously with coarse sugar.

Bake about 10 - 12 minutes, until the shortcakes are lightly golden. Cool on a rack.

Whip the cream and sugar just until soft peaks form.

Slice shortcakes in half. Transfer biscuit bottoms to plates. Spoon some whipped cream on each shortcake, then some of the plum compote. Top with some fresh sliced plums. Place biscuit tops over plum mixture. Serve immediately.

Apricot Tart Verlet

Café Verlet on Rue Saint-Honoré is a traditional French café that has been doing business since the late 19th century. They serve what most argue is the best cup of coffee in Paris. Among its other notable pleasures is this very rustic Apricot Tart. With a hint of almond to enhance the jammy apricots, this tart is so quintessentially French it’s hard not to dream about sitting at a table at Café Verlet while savoring each and every bite.

The tart begins with a very easy crust that is pressed into the tart pan. The filling is crème fraîche sweetened with a touch of lavender honey. It bakes to a very thin layer of custard that complements the deliciously tart apricots and crisp cookie crust. Barely sweet and extraordinarily simple, this is all about showcasing delicious fresh fruit. If you love apricots and simple seasonal desserts, you will certainly enjoy this tart.


Bench notes:
- My oven runs hot and my pastry crust got a bit too browned. The tart was done in about 40 minutes, so watch yours closely as the crust will taste bitter if it browns too much. Next time I might lower the temperature to 325 degrees when the filling is added.
- I used crème fraîche for the filling rather than heavy cream. For a quick crème fraîche substitute, use 1/4 C + 2 T sour cream, 2 T buttermilk and a few drops of lemon juice. I also used regular flour instead of "Wondra."
- I always favor desserts and pastries that are not too sweet, but I did add a generous sprinkling of sugar on top of the apricots because while the crust is the sweet element, apricots become quite tart when baked and the cream filling is not sweet at all.
- I thought the recipe seemed to call for far too much almond extract, but it worked out fine. Be sure to use a quality brand.
- This would be good with any sort of stone fruit or berries.


Tarte Abricot Verlet
adapted from The Food Lover's Guide to Paris by Patricia Wells

Tart Shell
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 C sugar
1/4 t pure almond extract
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/2 t fine sea salt
1 1/4 C + 1 T (180 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 T finely ground unblanched almonds to layer on baked tart shell

Filling
1/2 C crème fraîche or heavy cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t pure almond extract
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 T full-flavored honey, such as lavender
1 T superfine flour, such as Wondra

1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots, pitted and halved
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9” tart pan with removable bottom.

For the pastry, blend together the melted butter and sugar. Add the extracts, salt and flour to form a soft dough. Place the dough in the center of the prepared pan. Use the tips of your fingers to press the pastry along the bottom and up the sides of the pan in an even layer.

Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy and set, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust to prevent the crust from becoming soggy from the filling.

Combine the crème fraîche or cream, egg, extracts and honey. Whisk in the flour. Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Place the apricot halves in an overlapping decorative pattern, cut side up.

Bake the tart on a sheet pan until the filling is firm and the pastry is a golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes (mine baked in 40 minutes, so watch it closely to avoid the crust from browning too much). Place the tart on a rack to cool. Remove from tart pan and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.