I think I’ve developed a warped sense of nutrition. For the most part, I maximize fruits and vegetables, minimize carbs, focus on lean, usually vegetarian proteins, and avoid alcohol. But this all gets thrown out the window on the weekends, when all I do is try not to overeat and hopefully get some fiber at some point. Oh, and then there’s dessert, which I eat every day.
I do not skip dessert. I try to control portion sizes of course, but I recognize that this is an indulgence that’s important to me and I’m willing to make other sacrifices (i.e., alcohol on weekdays) to account for it. But somewhere along the way I’ve tricked myself into thinking that as long as something doesn’t have loads of butter in it, it must be healthy.
That means that I’m under the impression that this sorbet isn’t just “not so bad”, but it’s downright good for me! Pureed strawberries! A whole lemon! …2 cups of sugar? Oh well.
This is another whole lemon dessert, which makes it that much easier to make. All you do is puree everything and churn it in your ice cream maker. This smooth, bright pink sorbet tastes not just of strawberries, but almost equally of lemon, pleasantly tinged by bitterness from the lemon peel. It actually tastes a lot like a strawberry daiquiri. All that and it isn’t even an indulgence! Kinda.
One year ago: Asparagus and Arugula Salad with Cannellini Beans and Balsamic Vinegar
Strawberry Sorbet (from Smitten Kitchen, who reports the original source as the London River Cafe Cook Book)
Makes 1½ quarts
I added a bit of vodka, maybe a couple of teaspoons, just to keep it from freezing too solid. It was the perfect consistency. I’m wondering if rum would be even better, to keep with the daiquiri flavor?
1 lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
1. Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor, and pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Puree the strawberries in a food processor, and add to the lemon mixture, along with the juice of 1 lemon. Taste and add more juice as desired. The lemon flavor should be intense but should not overpower the strawberries. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
What brand is your ice cream maker? A few years ago, we tried to make ice cream, but it never quite worked, so we sold it. Everyone of late has been posting bountiful recipes of ice-cream (some strange like chai or rubarb) and I was curious to try it again. I had fun trying to think of new flavors, but nothing ever came out quite ice-cream-like.
Oh, yummy! I think it’s about time to dust off the ice cream maker and kick off summer!
~L.K. – I have a Cuisinart ICE-20. I’ve heard good things from a lot of people who have it. I’ve also heard really good things about the ice cream attachment to Kitchenaid stand mixers.
Like i needed another reason to get an ice cream maker!
I love the combination of lemon and strawberry. I also agree that dessert is worth sacrificing for 🙂 I never skip dessert!
Wow, Bridget!! That sounds and looks absolutely DELICIOUS! What a perfect way to welcome summer! yum yum!!
What a lovely refreshing sorbet! I really need to dig out my ice cream maker!
I tend to do the same thing when making desserts with a high proportion of fruit: blueberry muffins with tons of blueberries are really just fruit… right?
YUM. I love all frozen treats. This sounds very delicious and refreshing.
I have the ICE-30BC and it works beautifully 🙂 (I think the quantity is increased by 0.5L.) I’ve never had a daiquiri before, but I totally want a scoop of this now– it’s 34C here! Whew!
I have to indulge in dessert once a day. I do like you, I watch what I eat but can’t resist sweet. Beautiful sorbet.
Thanks a lot! I’ll have to think about those then! We have a lot of mixers, so we should have a Kitchenaid, but we should have the room for the Cuisinart as well!
Hi, If I used frozen strawberries in sugar syrup (thawed of course), what would be the amt in ratio to the 2 pounds of fresh strawberries? I think I could figure out the sugar ratio. I want to fix this for my nieces boyfriend as he is lactose intolerant. Thanks for your help. Phyllis
Bridget, I couldn’t resist this recipe. Please don’t think I’m silly for posting two of your recipes two days in a row! I had another recipe for today, but I made this and it was just so darn good! I added a little too much rum to mine. Even though it didn’t freeze as well as I wanted, it still tastes pretty amazing.
I have 3 Cuisinart’s….I think I’m obsessed! lol
BTW….this is a GREAT recipe!
instead of vodka, try Limoncello. the rum sounds good too