Challenge #48: hot weather comfort food - Lime and Basil Sorbet

[miss_s_b]

What do you want when it's hot? Something cold, yummy, that isn't too much of a faff to cook, and won't leave you feeling all bloated and eurgh. This is just the ticket, based on a Diana Henry recipe.

You will need:

• Two smallish saucepans, and a hob to heat them on.
• A blender that can cope with warm things.
• A sieve and a wooden spoon.
• An ice cream machine, OR an ice cream attachment for Kenwood Chef or Magimix or similar, OR a freezer and a lot of elbow grease.
• A freezer, and a suitable storage container (we keep the containers from bought ice cream).
• (at least) 6 limes
• Probably a bottle of shop bought lime juice.
• 300g sugar
• 2 x 300ml water.
• 60g fresh basil (yes, you read that right. Yes, that's a lot of basil).

Method:

• Make a simple syrup with your first 300ml of water and the 300g sugar - heat the water and dissolve the sugar in it.
• Zest and juice your limes. Top up the lime juice to 300ml from the bottle, or juice extra fresh limes and then throw away the skins if you're feeling extravagant.
• Add the lime zest to your simple syrup, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Leave the zesty syrup to cool for a bit - it doesn't need to be completely cold, but no more than hand hot.
• While it's cooling, bring your second 300ml of water to the boil, and once it's properly boiling, dunk the basil leaves into it for 10 seconds, then pour them into the sieve and run cold water over them. This blanching is not strictly NECESSARY for flavour, so you can leave this step out if you're feeling lazy, but it means you get a nicer colour in the finished sorbet. Once the basil leaves are properly cold, drop them into the blender and wash the sieve.
• Put the zesty syrup and the 300ml of lime juice into the blender too, and then blend.
• Pass the resulting glop through the washed sieve into your ice cream machine - you may need the wooden spoon to help things along here, but if you do, be gentle - and then follow the instructions on the machine OR pass it through the sieve into your freezer-safe container, and prepare to take it out and reblend it every couple of hours (at least 3 times or it'll go all crystally and manky). Ice cream machine really is a lot easier.

This works really well as a palate cleanser if the heatwave doesn't last. It's also nice in a G&T.

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

The time Mat made this and I had some made me so happy I still remember it as one of the best things I've eaten.

[miss_s_b]

YAY!

[summerstorm]

I was going to save this and then I remembered they don't sell limes anywhere I've gone in my town. Also I don't have an ice cream maker or any arm strength. But yum, sorbet.

[gominokouhai]

> • (at least) 6 limes

Now this is my kind of recipe.

> • Probably a bottle of shop bought lime juice

Perhaps not.

> It's also nice in a G&T

Panic over, definitely yes.

[miss_s_b]

LOL the shop bought lime juice is something we go through loads of. Waitrose essentials dontcha know.

[gominokouhai]

Waitrose essentials? Hark at you all fancy like.

> the shop bought lime juice is something we go through loads of

You filthy traitor. I tarried with it for a while, but there's simply no substitute for fresh. And there's simply never an occasion when you need less than half a hull, so there's no wastage. Get yourself a Mexican elbow.

[miss_s_b]

I've got one. In fact I've got two. The fact remains that Waitrose essentials lime juice works out about a fifth the price of fresh limes, and the amount of it we go through when I'm pissed and thinking "just ONE more basil smash" it does make a difference. When I'm that far gone, I'm not appreciating the fresh anyway.

It's like when Mat got me that bottle of ABK6 XO for my birthday, and I was allowed ONE glass before being shunted onto the Three Barrels... ;)

(we get an Ocado order about once a month because for some stuff, including lime juice, they are cheaper than many other places, and we don't have a car so delivery for heavy things like vegetable oil is helpful)