Lemon Sorbet © 🍋🍋🍋
For some reason, I have never got involved with making home made ice cream or sorbet, because there are always such good ones on the market, but this recipe is as if you plucked a lemon off your tree and trapped all its tangy sparkle, in a glass!
It is very easy to make and one can make a double quantity and have it in the freezer, for whenever you want to refresh your self, or a visitor, on a hot summer’s day.
This year we returned to the beautiful island of Sifnos and our dear friend Alexandra, at her dinner under the stars, introduced us to this delicious sorbet! Thank you Alexandra!
*I had real fun with this recipe, so apologies for too many photographs!
Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Make the day before to allow for thorough freezing!
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 tsp ‘finely’ grated lemon zest
Decoration
Lavender flowers, lemon verbena leaves, slices of lemon, rosemary flowers or any edible aromatic flower from your herb garden.
Method
1. First gather your ingredients together.
2. Using a small saucepan measure out water and sugar and place over high heat. Stir continuously until the water is clear, (as it will be cloudy at first) and ‘all’ the sugar granules are dissolved. Simmer over medium heat for five minutes. Remove from heat and leave to one side to cool. ( If you are in a hurry, pour syrup into clean bowl and place in refrigerator or freezer.)
3. Once the syrup has cooled, then squeeze your lemons, so that the juice is as fresh as possible. Pass through fine sieve and add to syrup.
4. Using a zester, or the finest holes on your grater, grate lemon zest. (One grate each time, so as not to go deeper down into the pith which is bitter!) Add the zest to the syrup mixture and mix well with a fork. Pour into a plastic container and seal well with lid.
5. Place in freezer. After half an hour check to see if it is beginning to freez……I found in my small fridge freezer, it took two hours to go slushy. Once it does, mix with a fork and replace in freezer. This breaks up the crystals. Repeat again when nearly frozen. The recipe says place in blender finally until it goes frothy. This is not essential. Leave in freezer overnight.
6. If serving at the end of a meal, I find it easier to have spooned out the sorbet into little liqueur glasses, before hand and place glasses back in freezer. Once out of the freezer it softens enough to scoop in two to three minutes, so don’t leave it longer. When you are ready to serve, remove from freezer and decorate. By the time it gets to the table, it is soft enough to eat, otherwise you risk it melting before you have served it!
* The delight is the small portions served in pretty glasses with small spoons! I love glasses and have quite a collection over the years, but other wise it makes the perfect excuse to go out and find some!
This is what you are aiming for! Use small liqueur glasses, little tea spoons and decorate with edible garden flowers. For this recipe I used lavender.
Choose non waxed lemons.
Assemble ingredients.
Measure out ingredients. Cover lemon juice to keep fresh, while you make syrup. Otherwise squeeze lemon juice, once syrup is cold for a fresher result.
Add 1 cup of sugar to saucepan along with 1 cup of water.
Stir continuously until water is completely clear, not cloudy and all the sugar granules have dissolved over high heat. This is important, otherwise sugar syrup can crystallise.
Leave to simmer, lowering heat for five minutes. Then remove from heat and leave to cool. ( If you are in a hurry, pour into clean bowl and place in refrigerator or freezer.)
Zest lemons, enough to fill two tsp.
Squeeze lemons.
Pour cold sugar syrup into lemon juice and add zest. Mix well.
Pour into metallic or plastic container.
Place in freezer. Check after half an hour.
As the crystals start to form, mix with a fork to break up crystals.
When it is almost frozen, place in blender and blend until frothy. Otherwise just mix up crystals agin with a fork.
Blend until frothy.
Store in freezer in plastic sealed container until ready to use.
Ideally use a melon ball cutter to make lemon sorbet balls and place in small glasses. One by one return glasses to freezer until ready to serve. This can be done two hours before serving and saves any anxiety of it melting too soon, when serving dessert.
I look forward to hearing your feed back, this is a ‘mus’t try recipe!!!!
Yogurt And Chive Summer Soup ©
What to do with a glut of Chives? I love chives and I have two big pots in my garden and I love summer soups, so I decided to experiment!
The result is a lovely chilled soup gently flavoured with chives, freshly ground coriander and red pepper corns.
This is especially for my friend Alexandra, who cooked us a delicious meal on the sand in Sifnos served in her beautiful Sifnos plates. Next day I was up early and off to the ‘Ceramics Work Shop’ to feast on all their beautiful plates……I left laden with goodies! The bowl below is an example.
* I have made this soup again and again this summer, it is just perfect for a hot day!
Easy
For six Persons
Time to prepare: 15 mins
****Make the day before for best results!
Ingredients
1 kilo Greek Fage Yogurt
Large bunch of chives
500-800 ml iced water
1 inch piece of Fresh Lemon Grass
Salt to taste, 2 tsp at least…
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground red pepper corns and coriander berries
Method
***Best made the day before for the flavours to really come out and for the chives not to be too crunchy.
1. Wash chives, remove any dead pieces. Chop finely with sharp cook’s knife.
2. Empty yogurt into soup tureen and add chives.
3. Using a balloon whisk, add iced water and mix to a thick cream consistency. About half a litre.
4. Using a very fine grater add a little lemon grass, not too much or it will become bitter, about a teaspoon full.
5. In a spice grinder place 1 tsp coriander berries and 1 tsp red peppercorns. Grind into soup until you taste the flavour and add a little freshly ground when serving.
6. Taste for flavour and place in refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, ideally over night. Taste again before serving, because once cold, it may need a little extra salt and spices.
Cook’s Note: Spices need to be freshly ground, the powdered equivalents will not produce the same result. My new ‘hand spice grinder,’ found in Cook’s shop, is ideal!
Salts vary in strength, add enough to really bring out the flavour.
Really only this lovely Greek yogurt can be used, it is thick and creamy and delicious!
Gather together your ingredients and chop chives finely with a sharp cook’s knife.
…..The finer the better….
There is nothing like fresh chives!
Place Yogurt in soup tureen and add chives.
Mix with a balloon whisk.
Add iced water until you reach the consistency you want. It should be thick and creamy.
Add salt pepper and freshly ground red peppercorns and coriander seeds. Freshly ground is essential!
*This is my new spice grater from Cook Shop!
Using a very fine grater, add fresh lemon grass.
Serve after chilling in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Check for seasoning.
* Sifnos Ceramic wear !
Final result…..
Delicious!
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes ©
This is a delicious summer recipe, easy to make and perfect as part of a Meze, eaten with hot crusty bread or Focaccia. The secret is the slow cooking in the oven!
Here is wishing everyone a wonderful summer and thanking you all for your 29,000 views!!! This one is especially for you Nectar, for posting such a sweet comment on the “Sour Cherry/Visinada” recipe the other day. Share and enjoy and as always, all questions are welcome and I love getting all your feed-back.
For 6 Persons
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
500g Cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion cut into 1 cm wedges
1/2 head of garlic (6-8 cloves) finely chopped
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Cumin powder or whole if small
2 tbs mango chutney
1 tsp brown sugar
A few drops of vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small chili sliced
2 tbs olive oil
After Cooking
4 Allspice berries
2 Bay leaves
Method
Pre-heat oven to 140.C
1. Using nice ripe summer tomatoes, wash well and cut up into mouth sized pieces.
2. Peel onion and cut into 1 cm wedges.
3. Peel garlic and chop with a sharp knife. Do not use garlic squeezer for this, because you want the garlic in tiny pieces, rather than crushed.
4. Slice chili, or add whole for a less spicy result.
5. Place the above in a oven-proof dish and add the rest of your ingredients. Oregano, cumin, chutney, sugar, vinegar salt pepper and olive oil.
6. Place in pre-heated oven at 140.C for 3-4 hrs, or until all the liquid has evaporated. Check this using a spoon.
7. Remove from oven and add allspice and torn bay leaves while still hot.
8. Serve with hot crusty bread or Foccacia.
Collect your lovely summer tomatoes from the vegetable garden or buy in the local market.
Wash well and gather all your ingredients together. Turn oven on to 140.C.
Cut tomatoes into mouth sized pieces. You can use cherry tomatoes or the ordinary kind.
Peel and cut onions into 1 cm wedges. Peel garlic and chop finely. ( Do not use garlic press. )
Slice chili, remove the seeds for less heat!
Place all your ingredients in an oven-proof dish. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili, oregano, cumin and chutney.
Season and drizzle with olive oil.
Place in oven at 140.C
Here if you look carefully there is still too much liquid. This photograph was taken after two hours of cooking.
After 3-4 hrs in the oven, nearly all the liquid has evaporated. Add the allspice berries and torn bay leaves, while the tomatoes are still hot.
Final result! Just delicious!
What's Cooking In Jane's Kitchen 