No-No Fourchettes Strawberry Sorbet

OK, put away your fourchettes, you'll want to savour this delicious sorbet using a spoon! Fragrant, seasonal strawberries frozen with that quintessential Italian liqueur - Sambucca! And, just in case you didn't know you were in Italy, the Fighting Fourchettes have added a sprinkling of sweet and pungent green basil throughout to make this sorbet the most visually spectacular and palate-pleasing of the Tour! As an aside, anyone on a low-fat diet will LOVE the very, very low count. :-)

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 4 cups (approximately)

Ingredients

• 2  pints fresh strawberries (or 24 ounces frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed)
• 1 1⁄4 cups  simple syrup (recipe follows)
• 3  tablespoons  sambuca romana
• 2  tablespoons  freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1⁄4 cup  finely minced fresh basil (NOT DRY)

• For Simple Syrup

• 1  cup sugar
• 1  cup water

• Garnish (optional)

•  basil sprig
•  lemon peel, curls
•  sambuca romana

Directions

1. Purée the strawberries with 1/4 cup of the simple sugar syrup in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the remaining syrup, Sambucca, lemon juice and minced basil; transfer to an ice-cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
2. To make Simple Syrup: Place sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the sugar has dissolved, about 3-4 minutes. Cool to room temperature. The syrup can be used immediately or stored in a covered container until needed.
3. To serve: Scoop out prettily into stemmed cocktail glasses and tuck in a sprig of basil to one side, and a curl of lemon peel on the other. If you like, you could add a splash of sambucca over top.