Iced Oranges

Lovely idea for this healthy and attractive desert I found in a Spanish cookbook, or better said the manual for cooking "Best of Spain". The original recipe sought for much more oranges and large amounts of sugar cooked in syrup along with fruits, so I decided to simplify it, to avoid added sugar, and vitamin destruction by cooking fruits. I made a simple orange sorbet with fresh cranberries, added honey and decorated it with fragrant bay leaves. The dessert is so simple that it hardly can be called a recipe - this is more an idea.

Although most of us love to eat dessert after meals, it is often more about ritual than the actual need. Even more common is the fact that sweet and fatty desserts are totally unnecessary and can only lead to feelings of guilt and weight in our stomach. The beautiful presentation of this fresh dessert will satisfy even the most finicky gourmand. At the same time, unlike most fruit, which is not good to eat after a meal because it can interfere with digestion, citrus fruits are allowed, even desirable, as vitamin C from oranges will enable the absorption of iron that you probably eat in the main meal.

If you can, use organic oranges. Otherwise, soak oranges in solution of water, salt and lemon juice or vinegar for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Although you will not eat the peel, most oranges have been treated with pesticides that do not want to have on your plate.

Recipe


Ingredients:


6 oranges (or more, depending on how juicy they are)
1/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries or other red berry fruits such as sour cherries, raspberries or pomegranate
Sweetener to taste (sugar, stevia, honey or blue agave syrup)
Orange liqueur, orange flower water, or other flavoring following to your taste


Wash oranges and  cut the top part. Cut the inside of oranges with knife and then scoop them. Squeeze the content and save the juice. Squeeze the remaining two oranges as well. In a blender or food processor puree the red fruit and mix it with juice obtained from oranges, sweetener and flavorings. Transfer the mixture to a container and freeze. Every hour or two stir it with a fork. Wrap hollowed oranges with their lids and freeze as well. After 4 hours, oranges and sorbet would be ready to be served but they can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.


To serve, fill the oranges with sorbet and cover with orange lids. If necessary, cut a few millimeters on the basis of each orange to make them more stable. Attach one fresh bay leaf on each lid. Serve immediately.