In the limelight: La Colombe’s zesty and fragrant springtime sorbet

As the lime season draws to an end, we’re enjoying the last of the season’s bounty with a recipe that nods to the arrival of warmer weather and longer days. And when the heat begins to hit, what could be more refreshing than a zesty and fragrant sorbet? 

After three of South Africa’s top restaurants placed in the world’s best 100 list earlier this year, Jenny Handley from the Gourmet Guide spoke to the chefs behind FYN, La Colombe and Wolfgat and shared some of their treasured recipes. After trying Chef James Gaag’s lime and lemongrass sorbet for ourselves, we had to share it so you, too, could have a little piece of La Colombe at home. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Lime wedges

• 12 limes

Sorbet

• 20g sugar 
• 2g stabiliser
• 140g sugar  
• 160g glucose 
• 120g lime juice
• 8g lime zest 
• 700g water
• 5 sticks lemongrass 
• 3 leaves gelatine 

Method

Prepare the limes: 

1. Wash and dry the limes, then cut them in half lengthways. 
2. Scoop out lime segments and set aside for later. (The lime segments can be squeezed and strained for the sorbet mixture.)

Make the sorbet:

1. Mix the first 20g of sugar with the stabiliser and set aside. 
2. Combine the remaining 140g sugar with the glucose, lime juice, lime zest, water and lemongrass sticks and bring to the boil. (If your limes do not yield enough juice, you can make up the difference with freshly squeezed lemon juice.)
3. Once boiling, take the flavoured syrup off the heat, cover with cling wrap and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. 
4. After 30 minutes, heat the syrup mixture again. While it is heating, add the gelatine leaves to a bowl of cool water and allow them to soak until just softened. Using your hands, squeeze out all the water from the gelatine and add it to the pot of syrup, together with the sugar and stabiliser mixture. Allow the syrup to come to the boil again and cook out the stabiliser. 
5. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, cover it and allow it to rest in the fridge for 8 hours.
6. Once rested, churn the mixture in an ice-cream maker.

To assemble: 

1. Fill the empty lime halves with sorbet and, placing them carefully on a tray, cover and freeze them for 6 hours. 
2. Once ready to serve, slice each lime in half again to form wedges and serve.

Serves 12

For the stabiliser, we recommend the Health Connection Guar Gum Powder which can be bought at your local health store or supermarket.

If having a piece of La Colombe at home simply isn’t enough for you, book a table online (or via our app) and enjoy their full French-meets-Asian fine dining experience for yourself.