Can I Cook The Redcurrants For The Slush Sorbet In A Saucepan Instead Of The Oven?

Our answer

Nigella's Redcurrant Slush Sorbet (from NIGELLA SUMMER cooks the redcurrants in a moderately hot oven with sugar plus orange juice and zest. This is a fairly gentle way of cooking them and even though the dish is covered, the flavours seem to intensify as the fruit softens. As sorbets can be made in advance, you could put the dish of redcurrants in the oven while you are cooking another dish, rather than switching the oven on especially for this recipe. You could even chill the redcurrant purée overnight and churn it the next day.

Of course you can cook the redcurrants, on their stalks, in a large, covered saucepan on the hob or stove. The pan should be wide enough so that the redcurrants are not all piled on top of each other. Make sure that you keep the heat very low so that the redcurrants soften gently and try to avoid letting the mixture boil. When the redcurrants are soft and the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture cool before pushing it through a food mill.