Watermelon Sorbet

Out of the Ord - Watermelon

This delicious watermelon sorbet is the perfect treat for a sunny dry-season day in the North of Australia. For those in winter temperatures, wow your dinner guests with an on theme homemade dessert following an Italian feast of pasta.

Allow approx. 15 hours to complete this recipe

Ingredients:

• 500ml (2 cups) water
• 215g (1 cup) caster sugar
• A quarter to a half wedge seedless watermelon, rind removed, coarsely chopped *
• 2 egg whites
• Fresh lime and strawberries for garnish

Method:

1. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
2. Meanwhile, place cut up the watermelon and blend until pureed. Strain puree through a fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have about 600ml of watermelon juice). Repeat the straining process. *
3. Combine sugar syrup and watermelon juice and stir. Pour into an airtight container, cover and place in the freezer for 4-5 hours or until almost set (add a dash of coconut rum here if that tickles your fancy).
4. Roughly break up the sorbet with a metal spoon and transfer to the bowl of a food processor (if you have one – I don’t…. and a stick blender worked fine). Process briefly until sorbet is smooth and has a soft, icy texture.
5. Return sorbet to container and place in the freezer for a further 4 hours or until firm.
6. Remove from the freezer and repeat step 4. Return sorbet to the container and place in the freezer for a further 5 hours or until firm.
7. Place the sorbet and egg whites into a food processor or a large bowl and process/process until sorbet is pale and smooth. Return to the container and place in the freezer for a further 4 hours or until almost firm. Scoop into serving glasses or bowls, drizzle with fresh lime and garnish with strawberries, serve immediately.

Notes:

• I had one whole watermelon, so for this recipe I cut up and juiced half of it which equated to two portions of watermelon juice for the recipe, that is 600 ml x 2. So, you could double the rest of the ingredients to make a bigger batch or enjoy a freshly squeezed watermelon juice while making your gelato.
• I repeated the straining process 3 times until the liquid contained no lumps.

 
Recipe adapted from Taste website
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