Tomato Sorbet

This tomato sorbet is a showcase of summer flavor—clean, bright, and unexpectedly elegant. The first step is to concassé the tomatoes (peel, seed, and chop), which lets you control the texture and concentrate pure tomato essence. It takes a bit of care on the front end, but the payoff is a sorbet that tastes like peak-season tomatoes in their most refined form.

This recipe is adapted from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook. All credit to Chef Keller for the original technique and inspiration.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ lb               Tomatoes, Ripe

  • 1 TBL                Canola Oil

  • ¼ cup               Shallot, minced

  • 6 TBL                Simple Syrup

  • 1 ½ TBL             Red Wine Vinegar

  • ½ tsp                Dried Tarragon

  • ½ tsp                Orange Zest

  • Pinch                Cayenne Pepper

  • Pinch                Kosher Salt

Method

1. Core tomatoes and cut a small “X” on the opposite end.

2. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan.

3. Place tomatoes in the water and boil for 1-2 minutes or until the skin begins to separate from the tomato.

4. Transfer tomatoes to ice water and cool.

5. Remove skin and cut tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Remove seeds as you cut the tomatoes.

6. Place tomatoes in a saucepan and reduce over low heat for 30 – 40 minutes. Most of the liquid will, be cooked off.

7. Remove tomatoes from heat and cool.

8. Place oil in a separate saucepan and sauté shallots for 5-6 minutes on low heat until softened. Allow to cool.

9. Place tomatoes and shallots in a blender and puree until smooth.

10. Strain through a tamis (you will have roughly 1 cup) and return to the blender.

11. Add simple syrup, vinegar, tarragon, orange zest, and cayenne.

12. Blend until smooth.

13. Strain through a chinois.

14. Season with salt and pepper.

15. Place mixture in a container and chill for a minimum of 4 hours.

16. Make sorbet using one of the following methods:

Ice Cream Machine – Freeze the bowl of the ice cream machine for 24 hours. Be sure to chill the sorbet mixture for at least 4 hours. It should be very cold. Turn machine on, then pour in the cold mixture. Churn for 20-30 minutes or until it has a “soft serve” texture. Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours to firm up.

Food Processor / Blender – Pour chilled base into a shallow metal tray. Freeze flat for 3–4 hours until solid. Break into chunks and transfer to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Refreeze 30–60 min for firmer texture before serving.

By Hand (Granita) – Pour the chilled tomato sorbet mixture into a wide, shallow container (metal works best). Place the container in the freezer. After 30–45 minutes, the edges should be starting to freeze. Use a fork to scrape and stir, pulling the frozen crystals into the center and breaking up any clumps. Return to the freezer and repeat the scraping every 30 minutes. After 3–4 rounds (roughly 2–3 hours total), you’ll have a fluffy, flaky texture—almost like savory snow. Before serving, give it one final scrape to fluff it up.

This recipe is adapted from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook. All credit to Chef Keller for the original technique and inspiration.