Cucumber Lime Sorbet

(click on the picture for more...)

Surprised?

Un peu, beaucoup.

Sceptical, maybe.

Just like my mum:' Un sorbet au quoi?!'

If you think about it, cucumbers are just of the same family as watermelon after all. A great thirst-quencher: just try a slice of cucumber in a glass of water instead of lemon! A bowl of gazpacho is another great option.

Cucumbers seem such an ordinary and bland fruit/vegetable, but if you are adventurous, this sorbet is definitely the way to go. This colorful sorbet surprisingly captures the freshness and the light-melon flavour of the fruit.

It is also extremely easy to make: I just whizzed the fruit with sugar and salt into a smoothie, that I passed through a strainer to collect the juice. To avoid wasting food, I saved the remaining pulp and used it in my shrimp cocktail recipe. I stirred the zest and the juice of one lime into the dark green juice, that I chilled in the fridge. Before churning the sorbet in the icecream maker , I stirred in some of Adam's pepper-flavoured vodka to limit ice crystal formation. Feel free to experiment with a slice of watermelon. Et voilà!

Ingredients for about 2/3 quart:

2 English cucumbers (about 2 pounds)

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 lime zest and juice

1 tablespoon pepper-flavoured vodka

1. Wash and slice the cucumbers.

2. Purée the cucumber with the sugar and salt until smooth.

3. Pass the cucumber smoothie through a strainer, pressing firmly on the cucumber to extract all the liquid (NB: I saved the pulp as relish for my shrimp cocktail recipe).

4. Zest and press the lime into the cucumber juice.

5. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

6. Stir in the vodka and freeze in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

7. Transfer into a plastic container and store in the freezer. (Don't forget to take it out of the freezer 10 mins before scooping)