Blood Orange & Cardamom Sorbet

Whisper it – I’m beginning to see the first signs of summer. Sunny days are becoming more frequent (glossing over today’s rainstorm), jumper wearing days less so. I’ve eaten Twisters in the park, gone for a scoop of ice cream after dinner (rosewater – it was delicious), walked into town without a jacket. And now I’ve made my first sorbet of the year!I’ve made a few ice creams at Leiths already but making it under pressure in a busy kitchen isn’t quite the same as taking the time to eat sorbet in the sunshine in the garden. It seemed fitting that my first foray into frozen goods this year was such a beautiful summery colour. I was lucky that my blood oranges were each a bold deep pink, apart from one that lacked any sign of colour at all, making us wonder whether it was a sneaky imposter of a normal orange supermarkets use to pad out their blood orange supplies?! Nevertheless the result was delicious – super refreshing, vibrant and just a hint of bitterness. I really liked the pistachios on top to add a bit of crunch to the icy sweetness. I was also surprised by how simple it was – I don’t have an ice cream machine so I just stirred it up with a fork every few hours to break down the ice crystals and this worked perfectly, inspiring me to make more sorbets this summer. You can find the recipe here – enjoy!