GARDEN SORBET

I adore this recipe. Fresh mint, lemon, apple and thyme are combined to make a refreshing sorbet. It’s super simple, too: no ice-cream churner required.

Preparation 15 minutes, plus chilling and overnight freezing Serves 6-8 30G FRESH MINT

10G FRESH THYME, LEMON THYME OR A BIT MORE MINT 280ML WATER

200G CASTER OR GRANULATED SUGAR

130ML PLUS 2 TSP FRESHLY SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE (ABOUT 4 LEMONS) – LIME OR ORANGE JUICE WORK WELL, TOO, AS LONG AS IT’S FRESH

150ML APPLE JUICE OR ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL, DILUTED WITH WATER

1 Add the mint, thyme, water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a low heat, so the sugar can fully dissolve – this will take about 10 minutes.

2 Once it’s bubbling, reduce the heat slightly and let the mixture simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.

3 Juice your lemons well – you want all of the juice available! 4 Once cool, pour the herb syrup, lemon juice and apple juice through a sieve and into a mixing jug (catching and discarding the boiled herbs). Mix well, then transfer the mixture to a freezeproof sealable container. Remember that liquid expands a bit as it freezes, so make sure your container is big enough.

5 Let fully freeze overnight, then remove the frozen block of sorbet from the freezer and slice it up like you would brownies. Scoop it out and put into a food processor. Give it a good old blitz for a couple of minutes until smooth. You may need to help the big chunks out a bit with a spoon.

6 Transfer the sorbet back to the container and re-freeze for an hour. Then consume or store until you’re ready. If you return and it’s become a block of ice, just blitz again.