Strawberry season in Maryland is upon us! I recently joined my first fruit CSA, and I am super excited to receive an abundance of fruit each week. The first week I received several quarts of strawberries and a bunch of asparagus and the following week the farm added some rhubarb. So exciting! And these strawberries are to die for. I have never seen strawberries so red!
Instead of being healthy and eating the fruit straight from the box, however, my first thought was to use the fruit to make dessert! And why not? The natural sweetness of the fruit lends itself to making beautiful pies and sorbets, while the tart nature of fruit pairs wonderfully with yogurt and cream. There will be many upcoming CSA-inspired ice creams and sorbets on this blog.
A couple years ago I made some strawberry sherbet, which is one of my favorite recipes on this blog. I decided to mix up the recipe a bit and added some cardamom for a hint of tartness. So good! Can’t wait to receive more strawberries next week! Enjoy!
Strawberry Cardamom Sherbet
Makes 1 quart
Try to find low-fat buttermilk for this recipe. It makes a difference. If you can only find non-fat buttermilk in the store, add an additional 2 Tablespoons of cream.
1 pound (450 g) strawberries, hulled and halved
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 Tablespoon brandy
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
Prepare strawberries and place in a non-reactive container with sugar and brandy. Let stand for one hour, stirring occasionally.
Pour macerated strawberries into a blender, add lemon juice, and blend until smooth. Add cardamom, buttermilk and cream and pulse until combined. Pour sherbet base through a fine mesh sieve (to remove most seeds) into medium bowl. Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 2 hours).
Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place plastic or parchment over sherbet (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
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