This is what I came up with when I put my mind to creating a dessert made from vegetables. I sweetened freshly juiced beetroot, fennel, and ginger and then turned it into a sorbet. To keep the flavor as fresh as possible, I heated only part of the juice to allow the sugar to melt. The flavors complemented each other nicely. The balance is important, not too sweet and not too much ginger. Now I only need to think of a better presentation. You could also change this in to a palate cleanser by reducing the amount of sugar (or by adding a juiced pear instead of the sugar).

This recipe is easy if you own both a juicer and an ice cream maker. I do own the latter, but not yet a juicer. It is on my wish list. In the meantime, I have to make do blending the vegetables and then straining out the juice. It works, but a proper juicer is much better and a slow juicer would have a higher yield and better quality juice. If only they weren’t so expensive (and take so much space).

Ingredients

For about 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) of sorbet

250 ml (1 cup) freshly juiced fennel

250 ml (1 cup) freshly juiced beetroot

100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar

1 Tbsp of fresh ginger juice (to taste)

Preparation

Combine the beetroot juice and the fennel juice and stir to mix.

Put about 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the mixed juice in a saucepan and add the sugar.

Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Combine the sweetened juice with the rest of the juice.

Add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed ginger juice (grate the ginger first and then squeeze the grated ginger in your fist, catching the juice in a bowl).

Cover the juice with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill.

To make the sorbet, pour the chilled juice in the ice cream maker.

Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions to obtain the sorbet. Serve at once or transfer to a plastic container and put in the freezer.

Flashback

Pasta with peas and pesto: very quick, very easy, very green, and very tasty.