Sage Sorbet, Crispy Black Cod

While I was in Tuscany recently, I was taken on daily food and wine adventures with Bernie and Cristina from Shopping Safaris Tuscany.  Jo-Ann from Active Gourmet Getaways was the kind and thoughtful person who led me to Bernie and Cristina.  Much more on them in the future - no doubt you'll see plenty of posts about some of the amazing experiences I had in and around Chianti soon enough.

One of the outings they took me on was a morning of cooking in the kitchen of Ristorante Il Battibecco, an excellent restaurant in a town called Impruneta, right outside of Florence.  I had been cooking in a very traditional restaurant kitchen during my time in Tuscany, but this experience was very different.  The chef, Dante Del Bravo, gave classic Tuscan dishes a creative, modern twist.  One of the vivid memories I had of the few hours I spent there was a random taste of a sage sorbet the chef had us sample from his freezer.  All I can recall about it was the deep, earthy expression of sage captured in a simple, refreshing bite.

On a humid night in NYC, I remembered this sage sorbet and thought I'd experiment.  I decided the sorbet would not be very sweet, which then led me toward pairing it with fish.  Black cod was looking very fresh in the market and I went from there.  I decided to make a crispy crust for the cod, allowing a crispy texture to contrast with the moist flesh and the icy sage.  The key to the sorbet is to show restraint with the sage - it can really overwhelm the sorbet and whatever you pair with it.  I personally couldn't imagine it for dessert, even if much sweeter.  While I would certainly recommend this dish, I will definitely experiment with a raw crudo-esque preparation to accompany the sage sorbet - tuna, hamachi and salmon come to mind.   A very rough outline of my measurements for the sage sorbet follows the jump.

2 oz sugar

2 cups water

1.5 oz chopped sage leaves

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Dissolve the sugar in the water on high heat.  When it comes to a boil, turn to low and simmer for about 4 minutes.  Let this mixture come to room temperature before proceeding. 

Chop the sage leaves finely.  Place them in a food processor, along with the lemon juice and the syrup-like mixture.  Puree finely.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and proceed as usual.

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