tonight's midnight meal

watermelon sorbet, frozen and scraped in its own rind

Name: watermelon sorbet, frozen and scraped in its own rind
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 hr · mostly freezing
Yield: one watermelon-rind bowl
Cuisine: Frozen dessert
Ingredients: 1 small seedless watermelon (or half a larger one); ½ to 1 cup cold milk (or plain kefir), to taste; optional: 1–2 Tbsp honey or sugar, if your watermelon isn't very sweet

⏱ 8 hr · mostly freezing🍽 2 to 4, from one watermelon half

Ingredients · tap to check

1 small seedless watermelon (or half a larger one)
½ to 1 cup cold milk (or plain kefir), to taste
optional: 1–2 Tbsp honey or sugar, if your watermelon isn't very sweet

The Way

Set the watermelon on a cutting board and halve it through the middle with a large knife, letting the two halves rock apart.
Wrap one half tightly in cling film and freeze it solid, 6 to 8 hours or overnight, until the flesh is frozen all the way through.
Unwrap the frozen half. With a sturdy spoon, scrape the surface of the frozen flesh, raking it into coarse pink ice flakes right inside the rind.
Pour a little cold milk over the flakes and keep scraping and folding until the ice and milk turn into a soft, creamy pink sorbet. Add more milk a splash at a time until it's the texture you like, and stir in a little honey if it needs sweetening.
Smooth the top flat with the back of the spoon so the surface ripples, then scoop straight from the rind and serve.

midnight tip. work fast once it's out of the freezer, it softens quickly. if it melts too far, just pop the whole rind back in the freezer for twenty minutes and scrape it again.

Questions

do I have to scoop out the flesh first?

no. the whole point is to freeze the half with the flesh still in it, then scrape the frozen flesh into flakes right inside the rind, so the rind becomes the bowl. no blender, no separate dish.

milk or kefir, and how much?

either works. milk keeps it light and clean, kefir adds a soft tang like frozen yogurt. start with half a cup and add more a splash at a time, until the flakes turn creamy but still icy, not soupy.

my watermelon isn't sweet enough, what do I do?

stir in a tablespoon or two of honey or sugar with the milk while you scrape. taste as you go. a pinch of salt also makes the watermelon taste more like itself.

watermelon sorbet, frozen and scraped in its own rind

Ingredients · tap to check

The Way

Questions

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