Mango and Chilli Sorbet

This is my adaptation of a mango and chilli icecream, which I ordered in a restaurant years ago. I use the small birdseye chilli. The sweetness of the mango is the first thing you taste, and as you swallow you get the warmth of the chilli in the back of your throat. The coldness of the sorbet blunts the heat of the chilli, so you need more chilli than you would think. I have never seen any version of this recipe written anywhere, so I thought it was time I posted it.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 1 1/4-1 1/2 litres

Ingredients

• 500  g  very ripe fresh mango pulp (flesh of approx 3 medium mangoes)
• 20 -40  ml lemon juice
• 150  g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 150  ml water
• 1  egg white
• 1  small  medium-hot hot chili pepper, deseeded

Directions

1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, stir the sugar and water with a wooden spoon. Heat on medium until the sugar has dissolved, then boil the mixture for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. (This can be done ahead of time and the resulting syrup kept in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.).
2. Chop the chilli very finely, then thoroughly bruise in a small mortar and pestle.
3. Place the mango flesh, sugar mixture (syrup) and chilli in a blender. Use the lemon juice to rinse the last little bit of chilli juice from the mortar and pestle and add that to the blender too.
4. Blend the mango mixture until smooth.
5. Beat the egg white in a large bowl until almost stiff.
6. Stir the mango mixture into the egg white until well mixed.
7. Freeze the sorbet in an icecream maker. Remove from the icecream maker when thick and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 days (the fewer the better).
8. The sorbet may need to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, but this time will be minimised if the sorbet is made less than a day before it will be served.