11 Apr Melon, lemon and basil sorbet
- serves 6 -
The delicate, almost ethereal sweetness of melon works beautifully when sharpened
by plentiful fresh lemon juice and enhanced by fragrant basil. Playing on the peppery
basil of this sorbet, I like to serve it with a drizzle of my most fragrant olive oil. It’s
Mediterranean summer in a mouthful.
200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) water
150 g (51/2 oz/3/4 cup) sugar
a few basil leaves, torn, plus extra to serve
1 medium melon (I like Cantaloupe)
juice of 4 lemons
a little extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the
heat and simmer for a few minutes until you have a simple sugar syrup. Remove
from the heat and leave to cool. Add the torn basil leaves, stir and leave
to infuse at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
Cut the melon into chunks, remove the peel and discard the seeds. Blitz the melon
flesh with the syrup and then strain through a sieve (fine-mesh strainer). Add the
lemon juice, tasting as you go to check the sweetness.
Churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions or freeze
in a shallow tray as a granita, raking it with a fork every so often as it freezes. Serve
decorated with a few basil leaves.
