Ice Cream: Watermelon Sorbet with Candied Lemons

I promise not to blog one more ice cream related recipe after this one for a little while. This is a result of two things. One, I attempted a watermelon entry for AFAM: Watermelon being hosted by Bee & Jai a few weeks ago and the response to that entry was mixed so I didn't feel like submitting it. Second reason is that my house is over flowing with fresh fruits at the moment (got a little greedy at the store) and I am trying to quickly make good use of fruits before they pass their prime and this watermelon is one of them. I also realized after making the last three ice creams that I really should try a sorbet from David's book as its lesser in calories and fruity! So here it is, my final ice cream/sorbet recipe for the week and month! :) I give you Watermelon Sorbet for A Fruit A Month:Recipe: Watermelon Sorbet (Based on David Lebovitz recipe in The Perfect Scoop)

• 4 Cups Watermelon Juice (He recommends 3, I used 4)
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Vodka (I used Absolut, its optional)
• A Pinch of Salt

Method:
Blend cut up watermelon in hand blender or regular blender to a smooth juice. It took a little over 1/2 medium sized watermelon to get 4 cups. Take 1/2 cup of watermelon juice and warm on stove. Add Sugar and Salt and stir it till sugar dissolves. Take the warmed mixture off the heat and add to remaining juice. Add lemon juice and vodka, if using to the blend and chill thoroughly. Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and set the sorbet per your manufacturing instructions. Scoope sorbet back into the emptied watermelon, wrap well and store sorbet till you are ready to use. My sorbet turned out crumbly soft and delicate. I loved the texture but it didn't create the perfect scoops with either the ice cream scooper or melon ball scooper. (While I was warming and blending and chilling the watermelon juice, I stuck the empty watermelon bowl in the freezer to keep chill as the vessel for the sorbet).

The sorbet ready for the freezer.
I dressed it up by running a fork all over to even out the look.

Candied Lemon Slices
David has this listed as a recipe for a mix-in in his Perfect Scoop but I reduced the quantities of the ingredients and as usual didn't pay attention to it like he requests but still ended up with decent chewy, lemony candied slices of tart heaven!

Recipe (loosely based on David Lebovitz' Perfect Scoop)
1 Large Lemon (I used organic), sliced thinly
1/2 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Method:
Slice up the lemons really thin, remove any seeds and stick the slices in a non reactive pan covered in water on medium hot. Let it come to a rolling high boil and then reduce heat to lower and let it boil for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, discard this water and add 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and pinch of salt and put this back on the stove for 20 more minutes or till the candied lemons have become almost shiny translucent and the sugar syrup is thickened down considerably. Take off heat and let it cool down before use.

Putting it all together:
Scoop out some sorbet into a bowl, chop some lemon slices and top it off on the sorbet. Serve. Eat. Feel like you are in heaven!

Results: Ok, I am in love with David's book. I am so glad I got it with my ice cream maker and the watermelon sorbet is fantastic with the lemon slices. In his book he recommends putting some chocolate chips during the last go in the ice cream machine but I wasn't about to wake up the kids and trek to the grocery store for Chocolate Chips. I instead experimented with candied lemon slices and lime slices and this is what I came up with! The vodka is very subtle in the recipe and definitely gives it that oomph but if you are about to feed this to under age kids or prefer no alcohol, I think skipping it would be totally fine.