Cantaloupe Sorbet

Wouldn't you know, I'm not the biggest fan of cantaloupe in its purest form. Cantaloupe margarita? Sure! Pass the pitcher! Blended into a grocery store fruit salad? Sure! I can handle that.  On it's own in a bowl right in front of me? No thanks.  I don't know what it is, but even when my mom tried to get me to eat it as a little kid, it was the one food I picked at and refused to eat.  I think it's a texture thing.  Maybe?

Regardless, I got a big ol' cantaloupe in my CSA box a few weeks back and had a boy from coming over for dinner. I had two issues at hand. One, I had to use said cantaloupe. Two, I had to make a dessert to impress said boy. After flipping though a cookbook or two, I landed on Sir Lebovitz's cantaloupe sorbet.

You know what? I loved it.  And I loved it just as much when I finished it off a few days ago. My friend Matt loved it when he came over to drink wine.  Moral of the story, even people who who don't like cantaloupe will love this sorbet.

What I love most if that the sorbet still retains all of the cantaloupe flavor, isn't overly sweet and the lime perfectly sets off the flavor.  So if you get a CSA full of melons, look no further!

Cantaloupe Sorbet
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, p. 111.


Ingredients:

• 1 cantaloupe
• 1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste, I went with less)
• 1/2 lime juiced
• Splash of gin

Directions:

1. Carefully remove the skin from the cantaloupe, cutting where the green skin just meets the light orange fruit. Halve the cantaloupe and remove and discard the seeds. Dice into large 1 inch chunks. Place fruit into the bowl of a food processor along with sugar, lime juice and gin.
2. Puree until smooth. Cool in the fridge.
3. Pour mixture into prepared ice cream maker for 25-35 minutes. At first, it looks like nothing is happening, but in the 20th minute or so, the sorbet will begin to thicken and come together. When the sorbet is thick, remove from the machine and place into a storage freezer-proof container.  Freeze for at least one hour before serving.