Hot and Cold Lemon-Lime Sorbet
It’s June which means it’s officially summer; and while the temperature out on the west coast hasn’t changed that much, the rest of the country has finally thawed out. Actually it appears they’ve gone from fridgid to hot with no break in between. We had a couple unusually hot weeks back in May when all I was eating was ice cream, sorbet and popsicles.
I love ice cream and popsicles. It doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside, I can’t seem to go to bed without at least one scoop of ice cream (a left over addiction from my first pregnancy I’m afraid). Most of the time my ice cream of choice is something in the chocolate family, but every so often I need something fruity. It’s during these fruitlicious cravings that I reach for either a popsicle or a healthy scoop of sorbet, usually strawberry flavored. But when it’s really hot, all I want is something citrusy. I don’t know what it is about lemon and lime, but they just seem to satisfy completely when the temperatures start to climb. Maybe that’s why lemonade is the beverage of choice from June to August.
Anyway, it was during one of these hot weeks last month that I desperately wanted a healthy scoop of lemon sorbet. Luckily Melissa’s Produce had recently released their Great Peppper Cookbook which just happened to include a lemon-lime sorbet. I know what you’re thinking, what is a lemon-lime sorbet doing in a cookbook devoted to peppers? Well, this sorbet isn’t just made up of lemons and limes. It has a little kick to it thanks to not just one, but two different kinds of chile peppers.
Melissa’s recipe calls for both the jalapeño and Red Fresno peppers but I (and you) can use any kind of pepper you like depending on how spicy you like your food. Me, I’m not much on spice. Sure, I like a little heat, but I don’t want to be sweating or reaching for the water with every bite. I’ve got these hot summer days for that. So while I did use the jalapeño, I chose to use some yellow peppers instead of the Red Fresno. I also strained out the peppers from the liquid base before pouring it into my ice cream maker. I still got the bite from the pepper without having to actually bite into the pepper. It was a delicious, cool and yes spicy dessert that definitely helped beat the heat. I can’t wait to make it again… maybe as a popsicle.
Hot and Cold Lemon-Lime Sorbet
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 small fresh jalapeño pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely diced
- 1/2 fresh Red Fresno pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 lemons, 1 zested and both juiced
- 2 limes, 1 zested and both juiced
Directions:
- Combine the water, sugar and chiles in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and add the juices and zests from the lemons and limes. Transfer to a large bowl or measuring cup and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled.
- Transfer the liquid to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer directions. (If you don’t want the chiles in your sorbet, strain the liquid through a sieve into another bowl, then transfer that liquid to your ice cream maker.) Serve immediately or freeze for later. The sorbet should last at least a week in a sealed container in your freezer.
