This is a superb recipe by Dhruv Baker and recently featured in The Times. He has a new book out called Spice which I have sitting in front of me as write. This recipe is like the book – it’s stunning and the book is beautifully illustrated. We have now tried a few recipes for our own delectation and I highly recommend that you get a copy for your library. As it’s summer and hot, this will be the perfect antidote for those sticky days. We adapted it slightly by adding star anise.

Ingredients
40ml water
100g caster sugar
5-6 slices peeled ginger
1 kg Watermelon chunks- skin and pips removed ready to blitz through a word processor
Juice of 2 lemons
1.5 tbsps of finely shredded mint leaves
1 star anise

Add the ginger,sugar,water and star anise to a pan and place it over a medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved and then allow it to cool.

Put the watermelon through the food processor, and then press the resultant pulp through a sieve. Add the lemon juice and make sure you have no pips.

When the syrup is cool, remove and discard the ginger and star anise and stir the syrup into the watermelon. Add the chopped mint leaves.

Pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze it for a few hours. Run a fork through the mixture every hour or so to break up the ice crystals. Serve in small glass bowls. Or glasses. Or bowls! Whatever.

As I said earlier in this piece, this is a fabulous recipe from a fabulous book. Try it you’ll be blown away. And when you do, you’ll then want the book.