Recipe of the Week: Rhubarb & Banana Sherbet

Excerpted from Fresh Pantry: Rhubarb. Kindle Edition.

Homemade ice pops, more icy than creamy, make a simple and easy frozen dessert. All ingredients are thrown into a blender and puréed—no fussing with ice cream makers needed.

This sherbet recipe is almost as easy, and is also a great way to use old, blackened bananas. The sugar and smoothness in the bananas perfectly complements the tart astringency of the rhubarb mash. Combined with buttermilk and frozen, it makes for a delicious grown-up treat.

Pennington will be at the Book Larder in Fremont on April 30 at 2:45 p.m. where she’ll host a tasting and sign copies of her books.

SERVES 4 TO 6

1 pound rhubarb (about 3 to 4 stalks), trimmed and cut into small pieces

1 cup sugar, divided 

2 bananas (about 1½ cups)

½ cup fresh orange juice

1 cup buttermilk

In a small saucepan, set the rhubarb and ½ cup of the sugar over medium heat. Cook until all the sugar is dissolved and the rhubarb is cooked down to a mash, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. In the bowl of a blender, add the remaining ½ cup of the sugar, the bananas, orange juice, buttermilk, and the cooled rhubarb mash. Blend on high speed until all the ingredients are puréed and smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the sherbet base into individual ice cube trays and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For creamier sherbet, you may also use a large loaf pan or a 9-inch cake pan. Pour the sherbet base into the pan and remove from the freezer every 20 minutes to stir vigorously with a spoon. This will break up any ice crystals and result in a smoother, creamier, final product. To serve, dish up in small bowls.

PANTRY NOTE: The proportions can be easily played with here. If you don’t have oranges to juice, use any fruit juice you prefer. Rhubarb can be doubled and bananas omitted as well. 

Fresh Pantry: Rhubarb (Kindle Locations 667-668). Kindle Edition.