Orange & mint sorbet

(serves 10-12 scoops)

I have a confession. I don't actually own an ice-cream maker. Every time i have some ice-cream inspiration i go running to my dear friend and ex-flatmate Carol to borrow hers. Thankfully she (and her family!) are kind enough to lend it to me so i can explore these crazy creative pursuits! 

I have to also confess that I haven't quite perfected the texture of this recipe yet. It's still a little icy but it does the job and it's always fun to make your own dessert flavours ~ nothing like Gelato messina yet, but baby steps :) This orange and mint sorbet is refreshing, and was a great complement to the flourless chocolate orange-cake that Paul made for dessert. Our inspiration for this dessert combo was from a cold winter night when we made a hot chocolate with Lindt Orange Intense (wonderful combo of dark chocolate, orange and almond) with cinnamon - highly recommend!

Prep time: 30 min + 40 min (sorbet mixing in the ice-cream maker)

NB. Need to prepare at least 1hr before serving!

Ingredients
10 medium oranges

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 medium)

10 Mint sprigs (optional)

Method
1. Carefully remove rind from 3 oranges using a vegetable peeler. Cut the rind from one orange into thin 1mm slices for garnishing and set aside.
2. Place the the water and sugar into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the remaining rind into the saucepan and a few sprigs of mint, and reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Strain sugar mixture through a sieve over a bowl, reserving the liquid and discard the solids. Cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, halve all the oranges and squeeze the juice with a juicer. Keep the halves that have rind on them for serving.

Using every part of the orange!

4. Add the orange and lemon juice to the sugar mixture and pour into an ice-cream/sorbet maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions (approximately 30-40 minutes in the machine). Spoon into  freezer-safe container, sprinkle with a few pieces of orange rind and mint and freeze for at least 1hr or until firm.

Before freezing (above) and after (below)

5. If freezing overnight, then take out approximately 30-45min prior to serving. Scrape using an ice-cream scoop into the orange halves to serve. Sprinkle with the garnishing rind and mint to serve. 

Served with choc-orange cake!