Lemon Basil Sorbet

I've warned you already that I'm all psyched up about sorbet this summer. Fortunately, my Mom sent me a series of delicious recipes, including a Basil-Lime sorbet. Even more fortunately, I had the end of a big bunch of basil left from the Farmers Market AND some lemons from our forth of July lemon bars (mmmm). Its on!

(a large handicap in my sorbet obsession is that I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to photograph them in a way that doesn't involve massive melting, and that looks appetizing. this was even more handicapped since it was green! on that note, excuse the tupperware)

This was extremely simple:

3/4c water

3/4 c sugar

3/4c fresh (FRESH!!! must be FRESH!!) lemon juice

zest from the lemons 

substantial handful of basil, chopped

1oz lemoncello (optional)

Boil the water and sugar briefly to make a simple syrup. Let cool a bit, then add juice (you can add less juice and more syrup depending on taste, I like things quite tart), zest, basil, and lemoncello. Blend in a blender until basil is thoroughly chopped. (note: I ended up actually having to strain out some of the larger basil pieces with a fork, this may or may not have been necessary).

I added the lemoncello because I feel that one issue with sorbets is that once they freeze they become very very hard. A small amount of alcohol (as in the chocolate kahlua sorbet) can lower the freezing temperature enough that it stays frozen but is scoopable (it can't be too much, though, or it'll never freeze).

Pop it in the ice cream maker, and let it go. This was very tart and refreshing and different, the basil made it interesting but wasn't overwhelming. It is definitely not something you'd eat a giant bowl of (at least at this level of tartness), but a small cup of it would be ideal to finish up a spicy meal or as a refresher on a hot day.

Enjoy!