Citrus Sorbet and Bloody Oranges

A couple days ago I came across some moro blood oranges at the market. Their season is typically over come late March, so I was happy to see them and pick them up. When I cut into them, the flesh was the darkest I’ve ever seen. The contrast between the pith and the innards made them look almost black. Rad. My first thought was, sorbet! Mostly because I recently bit the bullet and finally bought an ice cream maker. But, I didn’t have enough to make a decent batch. I did have about 4 pounds of navel oranges left over from an event though. Those would do and I could use the dark blood supremes for garnish. I didn’t really want to puree those beauties up anyway.

Check out the easy recipe below. I think it is a little sweet for my taste, but feel I prefer things more on the tart side than most others so taste it first and add more sugar, lemon, or limoncello based on how you like it. Just be aware that when you taste the base of the sorbet before churning, it will be more concentrated. The churning process will expand the mixture so the flavor will be less intense in the end. You can also replace the oranges with any other citrus. It’s a very universal recipe.

Orange Limoncello Sorbet

1 C Water

½ C Sugar

About 4 lbs navel oranges

¼ C Limoncello

1 lemon

Heat the water and sugar in a small sauce pot. Zest about 5 of the oranges into the syrup. Simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from heat, and add the limoncello and juice of the lemon. Using a paring knife, remove the peel and cut the segments out leaving no white on them (these are called supremes). Squeeze the juice from the remaining flesh into the supremes as you finish each orange. Remove any seeds that may have fallen into the supremes, and puree in a blender until smooth. Add the puree to the syrup and refrigerate until completely chilled (about 5 hours). Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.