Clean Watermelon Sorbet and Watermelon Ice-Blocks Recipe

Clean Watermelon Sorbet

- no added sugar - gluten free - vegan – whole foods -

Even though summer has left us, and we are now transitioning in to winter, the days can still be quite hot and so I still find myself craving cool, frozen summer treats. After the overzealous purchasing a 10kg watermelon last week, I decided to get creative in the kitchen so that the delicious fruit did not go to waste and formulated a very easy and simple watermelon sorbet recipe. This recipe does not require the addition of sugar syrups or ice-cream churning machines. All you need is a high powered blender or food processor and two simple, nutritious ingredients. This sorbet also serves as an interesting and tasty way of getting fussy children to up their intake of fruit.

Serves: 5

Ingredients:
- 4x cups of frozen, diced watermelon
- freshly squeezed juice from 2 oranges

Method:
1. Dice the fresh watermelon in to small squares (it is important that the watermelon is cut in to smaller cubes so that it is easier on your food processor’s motor).
2. Place the diced watermelon in to a container and place in the freezer until fully frozen. It is important that you only freeze the watermelon in single layers so that the pieces don’t freeze together in large clumps, thus undermining the whole point in dicing the fruit finely.
3. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the oranges and set aside.
4. Place the watermelon in a food processor or high powered blender, with a small amount of the orange juice and pulse until the melon has broken down slightly.
5. Add a little more juice and pulse again for another 30 seconds. Keep repeating this process until the watermelon has completely broken down and is thick and icy, just like sorbet! Depending on variables such as how frozen your watermelon is and how powerful your blender is, you may or may not need to use all the orange juice you have squeezed and this is why I suggest  you add it to the mixture in a gradual manner.

Please note:
- It is important that the watermelon is cut in to smaller cubes so that it is easier on your food processor’s motor.
- I find that initially using the pulse setting on my food processor is easier on my machine when first breaking down the frozen watermelon chunks.
- If you prefer a sweeter flavor you can experiment with different fruit juices. Pineapple juice would also work well.
- This watermelon sorbet also makes great ice-blocks (method below)!

Watermelon Sorbet Ice-Blocks 

- no added sugar - gluten free - vegan - whole foods - 

Ingredients: 
- mixture from watermelon sorbet recipe

Method:
1. Pour mixture in to ice block mould and insert the ice block sticks.
2. Gently and carefully, tap the moulds on the bench to remove any air bubbles in the mixture.
3. Place moulds in freezer, on a flat surface, over night or for at least 8 hours.
4. When you are sure that your ice blocks are fully frozen, gently run the moulds under warm water before gently easing them out of the moulds.