Mango Sorbet

I've been missing the islands!  Badly!  And I cannot stop thinking about those Mango-tinis that Ryan and I would have every afternoon in the hot tub.  There's nothing like being warm and sipping a cold drink.  So last night, we built a fire in the living room, cuddled under the blankets and had fresh mango sorbet!   Not quite as good as a Mango-tini (although it did have a little tequilla in it), it definitely hit the spot.

This recipe is about as easy as pie.  Actually, it's WAY easier than pie - making pie is hard!  The only hard part about it is cutting the mangos.  They're a little tricky, but I have some tips for you. 

Ingredients:
-  4 mangos
-  1 cup water
-  1 cup sugar
-  3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
-  3 tablespoons tequilla
-  pinch of salt


Directions:

1.  In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water.  Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.  Set aside and allow to cool.
2.  Peel, seed, and cube the mango.
3.  Place mango in a blender and puree. Pour in sugar water, lime juice, tequilla and salt and puree until smooth.
4.  Chill in freezer until cold.
5.  Place in an ice cream maker until set (according to ice cream maker's directions).
6.  Freeze or enjoy right away!

Peeling, seeding and cubing a mango is a little tricky.  That's why I suggest you go right away to Crate & Barrel and pick up one of these.  A mango corer.  $12.95 and worth every penny.

Voila!  Mango seeded.  Mangos are a little oblong, so make sure you align the corer up with the pit of the mango to ensure that this works.  It took me a couple times to perfect my technique, but now it's super simple. 

Next trick is to peel and cube the mango.  The mango skin is thicker than I like to use with a regular peeler (for carrots or potatoes).  And the inside is really slimy so they squirm around a lot if you try to grip them tight.  That's when I used to end up with 35 cuts on my hands and a squished mango glob of mess.  There is an easier way!  Once you have your two mango halves, use a paring knife and cut the flesh into cubes, leaving the skin uncut as much as possible.

Next, try to flatten the mango half.  This will probably tear the skin a little, but that's ok.  Use your paring knife to cut the flesh away from the skin, getting as close to the skin as possible.  And now you have cubes!

Blend everything together.

And then place in the freezer to chill.  Once cool, transfer to your ice cream maker.  I have the ice cream maker attachment that goes on my big bad-ass Kitchen Aide mixer.  It's basically a frozen metal bowl, insulated with a layer of ice in its interior walls.  It takes about 20-30 minutes and you can make up to 2 quarts of ice cream, gelato or sorbet.

As soon as the sorbet is ready, it'll be soft and sweet.  I think this is the best time to eat it.  Once you put it in the freezer for a few hours, the freezing process will make it harder/icier and will take away some of that sweetness.

 

And that's all folks!  Enjoy!