Strawberry Sorbet

When I was a child, we would go to my grandparents house on the weekends. The first thing we would do on Saturday morning was head out to the garden to pick the produce.
I remember going out before the sun was all the way up and hoping that my job would be picking strawberries. They were close to the ground, so it was easy to kneel and go through the strawberry plants and find all the red, ripe berries. It was so much better than having to go into the raspberry patch! Most of the time, we got to pick both. There isn't much better than a fresh picked strawberry. Juicy, flavorful and delicious.

Strawberries are coming into season and we have been consuming quite a few of these yummy berries. My kids can easily eat a pound or two in an afternoon, so when I buy strawberries, I know they won't last very long.

I wanted to make this simple sorbet to bring out the beautiful color and flavor of strawberries right now. It was really simple to make, just a few steps involved. I made a few substitutions, mostly because I happened to be out of lemons. Next time I would reduce the sugar by about 1/4 or 1/3 cup- this time I reduced it by a couple of tablespoons. I prefer fruit desserts to be less sweet and more about the natural flavor of the fruit.

This makes me excited about spring!

Strawberry Sorbet
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar (I used a little less than this)
1 tsp. kirsch (optional) (I didn't use this)
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used lime juice)
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and kirsch, if using, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve (I just sliced my strawberries right into the food processor, so I wouldn't have to move them). Cover and let stand for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Puree the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds if you wish.
(I skipped this step because I prefer to leave the seeds and pulp in these types of things. They don't bother me)

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, seen on Annie's Eats