Strawberry Sherbet

My favorite thing about late Spring is buying locally grown, super fresh strawberries. However, I'm not always patient enough to wait for that time to come, so when our grocery store had strawberries on sale for 99 cents/lb., I stocked up. Fortunately, this month's issue of Eating Well had several strawberry recipes, including the one below. This recipe came together very easily and the sherbet was delicious. However, once it is frozen solid, it takes quite a while for it to soften enough to scoop, so plan accordingly.

Strawberry Sherbet

2 cups chopped fresh strawberries (about 10 ounces), divided
1/2 cup sugar (or your choice of honey, agave, rapadura, etc.)
2 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Combine 1 cup berries and sugar in a small bowl and let sit, stirring occasionally until the sugar has begun to dissolve, about 10 minutes. Transfer the berry mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth (my Magic Bullet worked beautifully and was just the right size for this amount of berries).

2. Meanwhile, combine buttermilk, half-and-half, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Press the strawberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl. Stir, cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

3. Whisk the sherbet mixture and pour into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. During the last 5 minutes of freezing, add the remaining 1 cup chopped berries. If necessary, place the sherbet in the freezer to firm up before serving. (If the sherbet becomes very hard in the freezer, soften it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before scooping.)

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 112 calories; 2 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 7 mg cholesterol; 21 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 1 g fiber; 94 mg sodium; 86 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (40% daily value). 1 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1/2 fruit, 1 carbohydrate (other), 1/2 low-fat milk
Recipe and nutrition information from Eating Well magazine