Ingredients
| WATERMELON, BASIL & LIME ICE | |
| ¼ cup sugar | |
| ¼ cup (packed) basil leaves | |
| 3 cups watermelon, cut in cubes and deseeded | |
| 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice | |
| 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice (optional, but adds colour) | |
| COCONUT JELLY | |
| 400ml coconut milk | |
| ¼ cup caster sugar | |
| 1½ teaspoons agar agar powder | |
| MARINATED STRAWBERRIES | |
| 500g strawberries, hulled and halved | |
| juice and zest of 1 lime | |
| 1 tablespoon caster sugar | |
| BASIL SEED & WATERMELON JUICE | |
| 3 cups watermelon, cut in cubes and deseeded | |
| juice of 1 lime | |
| 2 tablespoons basil seeds (or use chia seeds) |
The first time I had basil seed was in India – the oddly textured drink was super refreshing and very cooling in hot weather. Recently on a visit to Iran, I had many more basil-seed drinks, again offered for their cooling qualities.
Instructions
| 1. | WATERMELON, BASIL & LIME ICE |
| 2. | Heat the sugar and 200ml water together in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. |
| 3. | Remove from the heat, add the basil leaves and set aside to cool. |
| 4. | Put the watermelon in a food processor (or blender, in batches) and process until smooth. |
| 5. | Strain through a wire strainer, pressing the flesh through with the back of a spoon. |
| 6. | Strain the syrup and add to the watermelon juice along with the lime juice and pomegranate juice if using. |
| 7. | Pour into a shallow dish and freeze for 2-3 hours until starting to freeze around the edges then break up the ice with a fork and freeze again until firm. |
| 8. | To serve, scrape a fork along the surface to crush up the ice. |
| 9. | COCONUT JELLY |
| 10. | Put the coconut milk in a saucepan with 250ml water and stir in the sugar and agar agar powder with a pinch of salt. |
| 11. | Bring slowly to just before the boil (but do not boil, you want it to reach about 90°C) and simmer to dissolve the sugar. |
| 12. | Pour into a 20cm x 20cm baking tray or similar. |
| 13. | Leave to cool, then put in the fridge until set. |
| 14. | Cut into cubes and store in the fridge. |
| 15. | MARINATED STRAWBERRIES |
| 16. | Place the strawberries, lime juice, zest and sugar in a bowl and mix well. |
| 17. | Leave to marinate for 30 minutes. |
| 18. | BASIL SEED & WATERMELON JUICE |
| 19. | Put the watermelon in a blender or food processor and process to a liquid. |
| 20. | Strain through a colander and measure 300ml into a bowl. |
| 21. | Stir through the lime juice and basil seeds and leave to swell for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until needed. |
| 22. | TO ASSEMBLE, divide the basil seed and watermelon juice between glasses. |
| 23. | Top with layers of coconut jelly and marinated strawberries. |
| 24. | Finally, top with watermelon, basil and lime ice. |
Recipes and food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles
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