Sorbetto di limone (Lemon Sorbet)

Ingredients

• 1 kilo (2 lbs lemons)
• 250 g 1/2 lb sugar
• 500 ml 2 cups water

Instructions

1. 1

   Start with the best quality lemons you can buy (preferably organic) and sugar. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler or paring knife, leaving as much of the pith (the white layer beneath the lemon's outer yellow skin, or zest) behind as you can manage. (The pith is quite bitter, although there's no need to fuss about it too much; a bit of pith will give your sorbetto some character.)

2. 2

   Put the sugar, water and lemon zest in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Let it cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the resulting syrup cool completely.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, cut your lemons in half and juice them. (This quantity of lemons should produce roughly 350ml/12 fl oz of juice.) An electric juicer certainly comes in handy, even if it's not strictly necessary, of course.

4. 4

   When the syrup has cooled, add the lemon juice to the saucepan, give it a stir, and strain the mixture through a sieve.

5. 5

   Add the mixture to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions for a making a sorbet.