The most recent book to land with a thud on my doorstep was Ibiza, Land and Sea by Francoise Pialoux.
The subtitle of the book is 100 Sun-Drenched Recipes, so of course I expected a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. And since Ibiza is an island off the coast of Spain, I expected seafood.
There were a couple potato recipes that looked pretty darned good (I kind of love potatoes and had a fresh bag of them waiting to be cooked), then I thought about making a lemon tart (mmm, lemon) or eggplant parmesan.
But then I found myself in the chocolate chapter, and I got stuck there. And then I saw the chocolate sorbet. I knew I had to make it.
This is a freakishly simple recipe with just a few simple ingredients. The result is pretty amazing. It's rich. Almost like a very cold ganache or a super-rich gelato. If I didn't tell you there was no dairy, you might assume it's simply a super-rich ice cream. It's not crazy sweet, but it's sweet enough. But still, you could serve it with something sweet, like the dulce de leche in the book, or maybe a pillow of sweetened whipped cream. But really, it's great on its own, although I really do suggest small servings. It's worth savoring.
Because this has so few ingredients, you'll want to choose a chocolate that you love, because that's what this is going to taste like.
The recipe calls for mineral water, which isn't something I ever have on hand, so I used plain old tap water. Next time I'm at the store, I'll grab some mineral water and see what difference it makes.
Since this book has a European heritage, it's assumed you're going to weigh the ingredients. I'm fine with that, but if you don't have a scale, you'll need to convert the weights to volumes. Some of the ingredients also needed a little translation, like the caster sugar called for in this recipe. I couldn't remember if caster sugar was granulated or powdered sugar, so I asked my cooking buddy Alexa who told me that it was a finely granulated sugar. I went with regular granulated sugar. It was supposed to melt, anyway, so it seemed like it would work.
This stuff is definitely a keeper.
Chocolate Sorbet
From Ibiza, Land and Sea
by Francoise Pialoux
200 grams (7 ounces) dark chocolate, 53-60% cocoa solids
80 grams (2 1/2 ounces) bitter chocolate powder
In a saucepan, combine the caster sugar (I used regular granulate sugar) with 1/2 liter (2 cups) mineral water. (I used tap water. Yes, I'm a risk taker!)
Heat over a moderate flame, stirring until the sugar has melted.
Now add the chocolate, broken into pieces, and mix. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate has melted.
Add the cocoa powder, stir, and allow to cool.
Pour into an ice cream maker or turbine to freeze.
Yup, I did get this book at no cost to me.
