Ingredients
½ cup water
⅓ cup sugar
1 cup fresh basil
(approx. 30 leaves), washed, dried, finely minced
1 whole fresh honeydew melon
well-ripened
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Equipment
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Medium bowl
- 1 Ice cream maker
- 1 Shallow metal pan
- 1 Fork or spoon
- 1 Blender
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and basil. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Boil for 1 minute, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile, cut melon into slices, remove seeds and rind, then cut into cubes. Place in a food processor and chop melon into a pulp. You should end up with about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of pulp.
- Combine cooled basil syrup, melon pulp and lime juice in a medium bowl.
- Freeze using one of the following methods. Machine method: Run the mixture through an ice cream maker as per manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or put in freezer for future use. If frozen, soften in your refrigerator for about 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
- Freezer tray method: Pour mixture into a shallow metal pan and freeze until halfway through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Rake a fork or spoon through partially frozen mixture so it does not freeze into a solid block. Return the pan to freezer and let freeze completely. Before serving, run sorbet through a food processor or blender to obtain desired texture.
Notes
Tip
Serve this sorbet alone or pair it with another seasonal fruit, like blueberry, raspberry or pineapple sorbet.
Tip
Add a sprinkling of summer berries for a dash of colour.
Tip
If frozen solid, soften in your refrigerator for about 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
Variation
Feel free to experiment with other accent flavours too, such as mint or lemon instead of basil.
Variation
Try a few tablespoons of finely grated lemon instead of the basil for a flavour a little more kid-friendly for little ones.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the freezer.
