Recipe: Mojito Sorbet

The rum is optional, but what's a mojito without rum — as long as you're of age! There are only a couple of tablespoons in the recipe, as additional rum would heat and soften the sorbet to a slush.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup grated lime zest, plus additional zest for optional garnish
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (8-12 limes)
• 1 1/2 cups sparkling water
• 2 tablespoons rum

Directions

1. Heat 1 cup water, sugar, and mint leaves in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to extract the mint flavor. Cool, then strain mint leaves from the liquid with a sieve, pushing against leaves to extract the maximum flavor.
2. Pour the cooled mint-scented water, lime zest, lime juice, and sparkling water into a bowl and combine. Pour into the container of a sorbet and/or ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When sorbet is almost frozen, add rum and continue with instructions until sorbet is desired consistency; serve immediately for a softer texture, or freeze in a sealed container for a harder sorbet. Let hard-frozen sorbet thaw several minutes before serving.

This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on July 22, 2011.