Method

If using an ice cream maker, make sure to follow the instructions as per the manufacturer

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t worry. You can still do this and make it a granita style

Add all the sugar and water to a saucepan and bring it to the boil. This should dissolve all the sugar quickly and when done take off the heat and let cool

Roll your limes on the work surface with the palm of your hand, applying enough pressure to soften the fruit but not enough to make it explode. This way you’ll extract more juice. Some people like to microwave them for 15 seconds each but both methods work

Once softened, juice your limes

Add the sugar syrup, lime juice and chopped basil in a blender and blitz until smooth

Before I add the sorbet base to my own ice cream machine I like to ‘super chill’ it so I place it in the freezer for a while until it’s got a slush like texture/appearance

If you don’t have an ice cream maker (making this granita style) then add the blitzed mixture to a flat bottomed dish and put it in the freezer. You simply have to keep dragging a fork through it to break up the large ice crystals. If you do this every 30 minutes for a few hours you’ll stop the mix becoming a huge block of ice

Using an ice cream machine? Follow the instructions of your ice cream machine

When you want to serve the sorbet, take it out the freezer and leave it to defrost for about 10 minutes so you’ll get nicely shaped balls of sorbet

For the granita style, let the granita rest out the freezer for a few minutes and serve