Melon water ice

Serves 4-6

It's important to use a good, ripe melon for this. Any variety will do but taste is the essence. A bland, watery melon will produce a very watery, nondescript ice. You can have this in small glasses as a refresher course, as a starter - with each guest given theirs in half a small melon, such as an Ogen or Charentais - or, of course, as dessert. You can also put the finished ice back into the scooped-out shell of a watermelon and serve it from there.

125g granulated sugar
250ml water
500-700g good quality ripe melon, peeled and seeded
1 egg white
Put the sugar and water in a pan and simmer on a medium heat, stirring every so often for 5 minutes. Leave to cool. Meanwhile blend the melon to a smooth purée in a liquidiser.

Once the sugar syrup is cool, mix it with the melon and place in a container in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until it begins to freeze. Whisk the egg white until stiff with an electric mixer, or by hand. Stir the melon mixture and beat it into the egg white until you have a creamy, frothy foam.

If you want to serve it from a scooped-out melon shell, put the ice in it now. Place back in the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.