Food Matters Project #41: Kumquat & Orange Sorbet

As the temperatures are warming up, we are all wanting desserts that are cold and refreshing.  Thankfully, my new friend Meg, of Fledgling Foodie, reminded us of this with this weeks Food Matters Project!  From Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook, Meg chose the Chocolate Tofu Ice Cream recipe.  Check out her post here.  Also, take a peek a what other Food Matters Project participants did here.

I took the route of a frozen dessert…but I diverged a bit with a fruity one, rather than chocolate.  A couple of weeks ago I was reading a DC bloggers post about kumquat sorbet.  I’ve never had kumquats before, but the photo’s made it look so delicious.  So I blame Nik, of A Brown Table, for the fact that I didn’t follow Mark Bittman’s recipe.

I’ve been reading Nik’s blog for quite some time- he’s so inspiring by telling stories how he came to choose various recipes, reasons behind particular ingredients, and his amazing photos.  I think I pin most of his recipes on my Pinterest page since they all look so delicious.

Although I have never had a kumquat, I decided to try making this recipe.  I did buy extra kumquats to snack on, and figured it would be a great way to taste this new fruit.  They are sour (more than lemons), a little bitter, and somewhat sweet- definitely something I’ve never tasted before.  To add a little more sweetness, I did add freshly squeezed orange juice.

And now that the sorbet is almost gone, I’m trying to think of other frozen desserts for the summer months.  Any recommendations?  We’ve previously made a Pear Sorbet and Rum Raisin Ice Cream.

Kumquat & Orange Sorbet
Adapted from: A Brown Table

Boiling the kumquats takes out the bitterness from the fruit, I highly recommend doing this. 

12 oz kumquats
6 cups water (to boil kumquats)
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 inch ginger, peeled
juice of 1 orange

Rinse the kumquats, cut the ends of each fruit- discarding the cut pieces.  Then cut each fruit in half, and pick out the seeds.  Add the kumquats to a medium saucepan, and cover with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then discard the water and repeat this process 2 more times.  Once you’ve repeated this process, drain the kumquats and puree them in a food processor.

In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups of water with sugar and ginger.  Continue to stir until the sugar water is boiling.  Once it boils, take out the ginger and pour the sugar water mixture into a bowl, add in the kumquat puree and orange juice.  Place that bowl into a large one, which has ice and cold water in it.  Keep the liquid in the ice bath for at least 30 minutes, or until the mixture is cold.

Then pass the mixture through a sieve, making sure to squeeze out as much juice out of the pulp as you can.  Chill this mixture for about 20 minutes in the freezer.  Then once it’s cold, follow your ice cream maker instructions to prepare the sorbet.  The sorbet will be done once it’s frozen and has a milky orange-yellow color.  Scoop the sorbet into a freezer-proof container, and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

Fish and Vegetable Stew

We had this for dinner a couple of weeks ago, but it seems fitting to post it today.  In DC it’s gloomy and rainy this afternoon/evening, so some comfort food would be perfect.  Oftentimes during the summer I feel bad staying indoors when it’s so gorgeous out (yes, even when the humidity and temperature are high).  So today would be a perfect day to sit home, relax, watch a movie and eat some stew.

I think both of us were a little surprised how well this came out.  I’ve never made a soup out of fish, so this was a first.  But it’s nice and light- so even when it’s super hot out- it doesn’t feel like a heavy dinner.  And, in case you’re making this during the fall or winter months, you can eat some bread with this to make it a bit more filling.

Fish Stew
Inspired by: Easy Everyday: Simple Recipes

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped (optional)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 small or 1/2 of a large fennel bulb, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups tomato juice
2 tbsp grated orange peel
juice of 1 orange
1 cup of water
about 1 lb of cod (or other white fish)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a pan.  Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, red bell pepper, thyme and fennel for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.  Then add the wine, heat it until it boils, and then simmer it uncovered until the liquid has reduced.

Then, add the tomato juice, orange peel, orange juice and 1 cup of water.  Turn up the heat once again, let it cook for about 10 minutes.  Lastly, add the fish and cook for another 5-10 minutes on low to medium heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Finally, ladle the stew into soup bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.