Pineapple, Lime & Chilli Sorbet

My ice cream maker hasn't been dusted off and busted out in a while. One might say I lost the love after the salted caramel butter ice cream. How could I top those heady heights? With a shadow of resignation, I got to work. For a while now I'd had the idea of pineapple and lime sorbet. Or mint? Pineapple and mint? Or lime? With gin? Tequila?

In the end, I settled on pineapple and lime with a hint of chilli and served with a few chunks of sweet strawberry, it worked a treat. Smooth, fluffy sorbet was heavily scented with pineapple, spiked through with lime and with a slow, confusing burn. Out of 8 of us who ate it a bewildered murmur went through the group. "Is there ginger in this?" "there's a strange hot-cold thing going on..." I smiled smugly at my secret, eventually revealing the truth.

Pineapple, Lime & Chilli Sorbet

Serves 8

1 ripe pineapple (give the inner most central green leaves a tug. If it comes out easily it's ripe.)
1 large lime
1 red birds eye chilli
100gr sugar
120mls water

In a saucepan, add the sugar and the water. Make a small slit in the chilli but do not slice through completely. Bring to the boil and simmer for a minute, take off the heat, remove the chilli and leave to cool.

Peel and core the pineapple, and chop into chunks. Place in a blender with the juice of the lime and the sugar solution. Blend vigorously until smooth - I left it blending away for about 3 minutes. Chill well, and then place in your ice cream maker. Alternatively, place in a container in the freezer, blending well every couple of hours a few times so that large ice crystals don't form.