We’ve got plenty of cucumbers here on the farm so we’re beginning to get a little more inventive as to what we do with them in the kitchen. So far we’ve popped a slice or two in our gin and tonic for a refreshing alternative to the usual lime and jazzed them up into a delicious cake with elderflower icing, so what next… Sorbet!
We found this great recipe for Cucumber and Mint Sorbet on Mika Reilly’s blog that’s easy to make and doesn’t require an ice cream maker.
Ingredients:
- 150g sugar
- ¾ cup water
- handful of mint
- 300g cucmber, diced (you can leave the skin on if it’s not too tough)
Directions:
Start by making the mint syrup and place the sugar, water and mint in a saucepan, heating gently and stirring in the sugar until it dissolved. Get it to boiling point, turn off the heat and leave it to cool.
Whilst the syrup is cooling, dice the cucumber and puree it in a food processor (if you have one) or a blender. If you’re using a blender, add the cooled syrup to the cucumber in the blender, so help it reach a more liquid-like consistency.
Next, pass the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the pulpy bits. Another options is to add an egg white here to prevent the sorbet from going all icy in texture, especially if you’re not using a food processor, or add a spoonful of gin for the same purpose.
Now freeze. If you have an ice cream maker the follow the manufacturer’s instructions but if not, give the sorbet regular stirs as it freezes in order to break up the ice crystals that form. You could even blend it up in the food processor a couple of times throughout the freezing process.
When it comes to serving, let it sit out for a few minutes to soften up before scooping out and enjoying!