Frozen treats are becoming necessities now, given the weather here. Hot, humid, stifling – although we had the occasional breeze today, and a downpour yesterday. Hot coffees have been switched to iced ones. People are carrying around personal fans, towels, anything to help keep cool.

And so, we look to our freezer for help. Or, I look to my freezer for help. I’m a massive advocate of sorbet, especially citrus flavoured sorbets. I love me some lemon or lime! But, I also know there’s a lot of sugar in sorbets and ice creams – so I wanted to make one that was slightly healthier for me. This recipe uses agave syrup. I know there are two sides to the agave argument, but the lower glycemic index and being a more natural sugar makes me a fan (occasionally).

I had a couple of lemons, and a zested orange in the fridge, so figured it’d be better to use them up. Again, all in the name of clearing out the fridge before the summer holidays. I’d also just bought a citrus juicer the other day, and wanted to get use of it. It comes with it’s own funnel attachment, so it can be put on top of any jug or glass.

Personally, I think sorbet works better when the juice is clear of pulp, so I strained my juice through a sieve. But you don’t have to, by any means. For reference, I used 1 orange and 2 lemons for the juice.

Patience is key here, as the sorbet does need at least 4 hours to freeze. This also doesn’t make a large amount of sorbet, just enough for two decent portions. It’s easy enough to double or triple the recipe depending on how much you want to make. And, of course, feel free to change out the orange for lime, or only use grapefruit!

I plan to make this again over the summer holidays, using different combinations of citrus fruit – so I’ll let you know how those go.

Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juice, sieved
1 cup water
1/3 cup agave
2 tablespoons lemon zest

1. In a saucepan, over a medium heat, combine the water and agave until the mixture comes to the boil.
2. Reduce the heat, and allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes. Then remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Once cool, stir in the juice and lemon zest.
4. Pour into an air-tight container, cover, and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
5. Prior to serving, remove from the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes, then scoop into bowls.