ROOIBOS TEA AND LAVENDER SORBET

And it is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation.  Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in turn someone else will be assigned your blog.  All you have to do is choose a recipe, make it and blog about it on the specified date.  The only rule is to keep it a secret!  If you are interested in learning more, or want to join the club, please visit the Secret recipe club website.
When I got this month’s assignment I was super happy as I was given a blog I already knew: the pluri-awarded Lavender and Lime by Tandy!  I immediately started browsing through all her posts… I went through ALL of them TWICE before coming up with THE recipe I am going to share with you today!  You see, Tandy lives in South Africa and, like all the other times that I have been assigned a blog from a country I have always wanted to visit, I had it clear in my mind that I wanted to try one of her local dishes.  There are very interesting recipes like Clemengold Ostrich fillets or Bokkie Bredie (Springbok Stew), but I was not sure I could find the needed ingredients in Sydney.  So, I settled for my first choice (especially since my husband was enthusiastic about it when I showed it to him!): Rooibos tea and Lavender Sorbet.  Rooibos tea is as South African as it gets and I still had some from making Beef braised in Rooibos tea and Sweet Potatoes.  Besides, I have a soft spot for lavender, though I did not have any of it and I had to dig quite a bit online before finding a place that sold it!  Luckily my husband volunteered (sort of) to go get some and I was all set to go. 🙂  Well, the whole family loved the final result!  It could be served either as a palate cleanser in between courses or as a dessert.  I could distinctively taste the rooibos, lavender and honey, yet all three flavours melted harmoniously in the mouth!  Delicious.  The only thing is, next time I will reduce the quantity of sugar as it turned out to be a bit too sweet for me (though my husband and kids liked it the way it was).  Thank you so much for sharing such a fantastic recipe Tandy!  I have made a couple of minor changes (in red), mainly because I could not find the Rooibos and Lavender tea, but the recipe itself is phenomenal and I will be making it again.  Please, make sure you drop by Tandy at Lavender and Lime and check out her beautiful site!

I also want to thank Angie from Big Bear’s Wife who is my group’s hostess for all her help!!

Recipe adapted from Lavender and Lime

Ingredients:
500 ml – 2 cups + 1.5 tbsp water
3 tbsp Rooibos and Lavender tea (I used 2 Rooibos tea bags and 1 tbsp Lavender blossoms)
50 gms – 1 ¾ oz. honey
150 gms – 5 ¼ oz. caster sugar

Bring the water to the boil.  Add the tea bags, lavender blossoms, honey and sugar.  Mix well and allow the tea to infuse for 3 hours.

Then remove the tea bags and filter the tea to get rid of the lavender blossoms.  Chill the mixture in the fridge overnight.

Churn in your ice cream maker for 30 minutes, or follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Serve immediately (you can make it a couple of hours before serving it and keep it in the freezer.  If you keep it overnight though, the water may crystalise and the sorbet may harden.)

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Rooibos Tea and Lavender Sorbet

A recipe for Rooibos tea and Lavender Sorbet, perfect both as a palate cleanser and a dessert.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: South African

Servings: 4

Author: Recipe adapted from Lavender and Lime

Ingredients

• 500 ml – 2 cups + 1.5 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp Rooibos and Lavender tea I used 2 Rooibos tea bags and 1 tbsp Lavender blossoms
• 50 gms – 1 ¾ oz. honey
• 150 gms – 5 ¼ oz. caster sugar

Instructions

1. Bring the water to the boil. Add the tea bags, lavender blossoms, honey and sugar. Mix well and allow the tea to infuse for 3 hours.
2. Then remove the tea bags and filter the tea to get rid of the lavender blossoms. Chill the mixture in the fridge overnight.
3. Churn in your ice cream maker for 30 minutes, or follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Serve immediately (you can make it a couple of hours before serving it and keep it in the freezer. If you keep it overnight though, the water may crystalise and the sorbet may harden.)

Enjoy it either in shot glasses as a palate cleanser between courses.

Or serve it in bigger cups as a dessert on its own.