three bowls

Continuing with my series of burning off somewhat boring but potentially useful posts, here's this one in time for your holiday partay.

I had a bunch of cilantro left over the other day, and the answer to "What do I do with this now?" was, as it so often is: frozen dessert.  

I looked around and found this recipe for a Tequila-Cilantro Sorbet.  I didn't have enough lime and no tequila, but I did have some leftover cans of pineapple juice and some rum, so I made up this recipe for Pineapple Rum Cilantro Sherbet (cuz to my American mind, sorbets don't have dairy).  

It worked really well.  While the rum does make this more a grown-up treat, I wouldn't skip it as it helps keep the texture smoother.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, there's also a granita method below.

Ingredients 

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 3/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 3/4 cup rum
• Pinch of salt

Process 

1. In a saucepan, bring milk, water, and sugar to a boil, and stir to dissolve the sugar.
2. Remove from heat and add cilantro.
3. Chill overnight in fridge.
4. Strain mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl.
5. Stir in pineapple and lime juices, rum and salt.
6. SHERBET: Freeze the sorbet in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
7. GRANITA: Pour mixture into a chilled 9x13 baking dish. Freeze for about 2 hours or until the mixture has frozen around the edges.  Use a fork to break up the ice crystals around the edge and draw them into the middle.  Repeat this process 3 or 4 times, about every 1/2 hour or so, or until the mixture is completed converted to ice crystals. (The goal of the breaking up is to keep those crystals small to make the mixture smoother.)
8. Serve!