Roasted Strawberry-Basil Sherbet

You really should make it

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Because strawberry season is the best time of year, I couldn’t resist sharing another one of my favorite strawberry recipes with you. Roasted Strawberry-Basil Sherbet is one you really shouldn’t miss. And guess what? You can freeze strawberries now, when they’re peaking, and make this anytime. The flavor won’t be diminished at all by the freezing. And the texture isn’t an issue since the berries are cooked and then whizzed in the blender like a smoothie.

Last week in my Sunday paid post, I was talking about how the sweetness and acidity levels in strawberries and tomatoes are pretty similar. So if basil sounds weird to you as a flavor to go with strawberries, consider how well they go with tomatoes, and then have faith. It is a magical pairing that makes this sherbet really special.

I always loved sherbet, even the supermarket kinds that I grew up on: orange or rainbow in a plastic tub. It’s so refreshing on a warm day and it makes a super easy (but wowing) dessert to serve to guests (!) or family. You do need to have an ice cream maker at the ready, so put that baby in the freezer right now.

My ice cream maker is an attachment that Kitchenaid makes.  So I don’t have to have a whole other machine around. If you have an electric mixer, Kitchenaid or otherwise, it has a motor that can handle anything. It saves space to get attachments for it rather than getting a different machine for each task. I use the pasta attachment on my Kitchenaid too.

Gentl and Hyers

In case you're wondering, sherbet is simply sorbet with some dairy added. In this case, buttermilk and yogurt lend their creamy tangy vibes to the full and fruity flavor of roasted strawberries. And hey, if you don’t like the idea of basil in here, leave it out! It’s your sherbet! But I urge you to try it, because it adds an elusive complexity that is hard to forget.

This recipe is in my book Open Kitchen. But I have made a few tweaks to make it even better than it was before— which was already pretty near perfect. To be honest, this is delicious even with out-of-season strawberries, so you can imagine what it is like with the flavorful berries that are in season now. 

In the original version, the strawberries are cooked in the oven with the sugar, which not only concentrates their flavor but also keeps the sherbet from getting icy. But after making the slow roasted tomatoes and strawberries last week I thought, “what if I can concentrate the strawberry flavor even more by cooking them a little bit differently?’” And so I did. 

If you have my book, you can follow the recipe there with delicious results, but if you're willing to take a little more time and dirty just one more dish, you can amp up the strawberry flavor EVEN more. I split the strawberries into two dishes (I used a 9 by 13-nch Pyrex and a ceramic baking dish of the same size), and used only ¼ cup of the total amount of sugar and cooked the strawberries at a slightly lower heat (300°F) until they were just beginning to caramelize at the edges. The aroma was almost too much to bear. 

I suppose you could do this right on a metal sheet pan, but I would be concerned that the juices would burn too quickly, and it would be hard to scrape up every bit of the thickened juices, especially if you line the sheet with parchment or a baking mat. I am sure it would work, just maybe not quite as well.

I haven’t tried this yet with the many strawberries that I’ve frozen, but I am sure it will work fine. It might take a little longer to cook off some of the water, but it will still be totally luscious and singing with strawberry flavor. I will do it soon and get back to you. 

It gives me comfort — and I hope you too — to know that we can keep enjoying this fleeting strawberry moment for months to come!

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PS - I wanted to remind you that all of the recipes in my newsletters live permanently here. You can also scroll through public recipes on my site or keep up with me on Instagram. Or better yet, you can support me by ordering my book, Open Kitchen.

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Roasted Strawberry-Basil Sherbet

Click here for a printable version

Makes about 1 quart

Sherbet is just sorbet with a little dairy added. Prepping this is as easy as making a smoothie, aside from roasting the strawberries in the oven first, which concentrates their flavor and eliminates any chance of iciness in the finished sherbet. It’s divine when made with height-of-the-season strawberries, but even basic supermarket strawberries take on a more complex and concentrated character when roasted. While basil may seem like an unusual addition to a strawberry sherbet, it adds a complexity that’s hard to identify and easy to like. The combination of the basil, vanilla, and strawberries creates an intoxicating perfume all its own.

41⁄2 cups hulled strawberries, cut in half (about 1¼ pounds)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/214 g sugar
1⁄2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
4 to 6 fresh basil leaves 
11⁄2 cups/355 ml buttermilk 
1⁄3 cup plain Greek yogurt (any fat content) or labneh 
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Stir together strawberries, ¼ cup (50 g) of the sugar, and vanilla seeds and bean split between two medium- to-large glass or ceramic baking dishes. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until bubbling and starting to caramelize around the edges. 

2. Discard the vanilla pod and scrape the contents of the baking dish into a blender. Add the basil leaves and let stand for 5 minutes to infuse the basil. Add the buttermilk, yogurt or labneh, remaining sugar, and salt and blend until perfectly smooth. Cool completely and chill very thoroughly, either by refrigerating overnight or transferring to a metal bowl and stirring over a bowl of ice water. 

3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, preferably overnight. This keeps well for several days and even longer. Let soften for 10 to 15 minutes, until scoopable.