A very refreshing and simple sorbet: the flavours of both the lime and the watermelon come through very well, with the lime striking a subtle note against the watermelon. The sorbet is great eaten just as it is, although I like to make coconut tuiles to serve with them.
I make my sorbets and ice creams in an ice cream maker (my favourite kitchen luxury item!) but you can make it by pouring the mixture into a plastic container and popping it in the freezer, stirring the mixture every 30 minutes or so until frozen, which will take several hours in total.
The sugar syrup can be made in advance: I often make it in larger quantities and store in the fridge to use as soon as I decide to make a sorbet. The liquid glucose helps ensure the sorbet doesn’t freeze into a solid block of (admittedly beautifully) flavoured ice, and gives a wonderfully smooth texture. For quicker sorbets, I often use a home-made cordial, diluting a bit before churning, although I sometimes add more fruit purée to a cordial base.
There are all sorts of variations, of course, depending on the fruits you want. As a very general guide, I use about 2 parts fruit purée to 1 part sugar syrup, but as long as the pre-churned mixture has a nice sweetness and is packed with fruit flavour then the churned sorbet will taste excellent. However, the flavour of the frozen sorbet will not be as strong/sweet/intense as the unchurned mixture, so you can go for more “full on” flavours. I also love adding fresh mint to the melon before puréeing it and straining it.
Watermelon & lime sorbet
- flesh from about 1/4 large watermelon, puréed and sieved
- grated zest and juice of 3 limes
- 150ml water
- 250ml sugar
- 2 tablespoons liquid glucose
(1) Put the sugar, water and lime zest in a medium sized pan and bring to the boil, stirring to ensure the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until thicker and syrupy. Add the liquid glucose and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool. NB: you can strain the syrup to remove the zest but I quite like keeping it in.
(2) Mix the watermelon, lime juice and the sugar syrup into a large measuring jug. Taste to check you have the right level of fruit flavour, although the flavour will be less pronounced when it has frozen. I sometimes add more watermelon or more lime juice depending on what balance I want.
(3) Churn in an ice cream maker until thick and almost frozen. Put in a container with the lid on and put into the freezer. Place in the fridge about 30 minutes before serving so that the sorbet can be scooped out easily.
Phil's Home Kitchen 