In June's The Simple Things, Lia Leendertz picks early-season crops and herbs for that first taste of summer. Turn to page 44 for fresh and tasty home-grown recipes, including this one for lemon verbena sherbet.
If you don't have a dedicated space for growing veggies, you can still pack your food full of summer flavours by growing a few pots of herbs. If you haven't discovered lemon verbena, then make procuring a plant your new resolution. The leaves taste like sherbet and make the best herb tea.
Or try making lemon verbena sherbet: 'A couple of years ago I came across a recipe for making sherbet, and I have been strangely addicted to it ever since. Hand your children a little egg cup full of sherbet with a handful of strawberries to dip in - and they'll be delighted', says Lia Leendertz.
The fizziness comes from the tongue-tingling combination of citric acid and bicarbonate of soda: the moisture on your tongue sets of the reaction, releasing fizzing carbon dioxide.
Lemon verbena sherbet (makes about 70g)
You will need:
Pared peel of 4 lemons About 8 lemon verbena stems, hung up to dry for a few days 60g icing sugar 1/4 tsp citric acid (from chemists) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1. Roast lemon peel on a baking tray in a low oven for 30 minutes until crispy.
2. Strip the leaves from the stems (they must also be crispy) and whizz peel and leaves together in a blender.
3. Sift sugar, citric acid and bicarb into a bowl and add the ground leaf and peel. Serve with sliced fruit.
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