Refreshing Cucumber Sorbet.
You're just three ingredients away from the best thing in your freezer this summer.
This month on ingredient we’re focusing on cucumber, the cool, refreshing vegetable that is just perfect for bringing a little relief to sweltering July days.
You can already find the recipe for my favourite Smashed Cucumber Salad (plus a handy method for pickling homemade sushi ginger) here, and my Watermelon and Cucumber Gazpacho here. Upgrade your subscription to unlock every recipe in the ingredient archive!
It may not be the glorious summer we always hope for outside at the moment, but that does not mean things are not hot in some respects. Kitchens become muggy, even short walks out and about to run errands turn sweaty, and even if we can’t quite sit out on a terrace somewhere quaffing French rosé, something refreshing is still in order.
Twice whilst it was still on the menu I ordered the Forced Rhubarb Soufflé with Blood Orange Frozen Yogurt and a Cucumber Salsa at Boys Hall not because of the perfect, tart, tangy soufflé (though it was excellent) but because in my brain cucumber as a dessert is having a moment.
I know because we seem to have it stuck in our heads that cucumber is for salads the idea of mixing cucumber with sugar seems unusual, but if you take cucumber’s refreshing delicacy of flavour and remove it from it’s usual cool and crunchy texture, it makes sense. And because sorbet won’t freeze properly with the right texture if you don’t add the right amount of sugar? The solution seems obvious, especially as a recent push to empty the freezer when we thought we were moving house meant there was actually space for once to freeze the bowl of my ice cream maker.
If you have one, plus a high powered bullet blender or the like, you can make this easy 3-ingredient sorbet which is the perfect thing to cool down with, or even to enjoy for a light, cleansing end-of-meal treat. Bonus points if you serve it in a small glass with a long spoon, and a splash of gin added at the very last minute.
Cucumber Sorbet
Serves: 6, Preparation time: 45 minutes, plus freezing time
I’m quite lazy when it comes to ice cream and sorbet making - milk and cream bases for me, none of that custard or egg white faff please and thank you - so this sorbet is best made a few hours before you plan to serve it - it it freezes overnight it will still have that sorbet mouthfeel but will be almost impossible to get attractive scoops from as my picture attests. Though, if you’re catering for guests, rather than just your family, 2 tbsp of liquid glucose added to the mixture should solve this problem.