Amalfi lemon sorbet

No ice-cream machine needed! Serve sorbet in a hollowed-out frozen lemon — it will keep it from melting —or serve spoonfuls in a coupe with Prosecco to make a Sgroppino.

Amalfi lemon sorbet

Makes about 1L

Ingredients

15 lemons
1¼ cups (250g) sugar
1¾ cups (430ml) water
Pinch of fine salt
2 egg whites

Method

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the yellow skin off 3 of the lemons. Cut lemons in half, remove flesh and place in a medium pot along with lemon peel strips. Discard the lemon shells.
If serving in lemon shells, slice a tiny edge off the remaining lemons so they can stand upright.
Cut the top third off the remaining 12 lemons. Scoop the flesh out and add it to the pot. Reserve hollowed-out lemons, including the tops, and place them in the freezer for serving.
Add sugar, water and salt to the pot. Place over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Leave over a low heat for 10 minutes to infuse, without the mixture simmering.
Remove from heat and strain liquid into a large, flat, freezer-safe dish. Leave to cool outside to room temperature.
Freeze for 24 hours, then use a fork to break up large flakes, scraping and mashing as needed.
Place frozen mixture in a food processor and blitz until smooth, working in two to three batches to avoid the mixture becoming runny during prolonged blitzing.
Whisk 2 egg whites until foamy and fold into the frozen mixture, making sure it is well combined.
Freeze for another 24 hours before spooning into frozen lemons and serving.