Granitas make the best welcome anyone can get. Mine was inspired by the desire of using leftover watermelon chunks. Summer and watermelon are fast friends, but when you convert the watermelon into its frozen granita form, its more like BEST friends. There was born the Watermelon Granita.
The best part? ALL the hard work is done by the freezer!
Start by blending together leftover watermelon with sugar syrup in a food processor or blender. Add a touch of lime juice to bring some zing and acidity to the granita. Once you’re happy with the taste, pour into a flat-ish container that is freezer friendly.
Every hour or so, peek in at it. Once it looks a bit set, scrape into granules with a fork.
Repeat the freezing and scraping twice more, and your granita is ready! Serve with a leaf of fresh mint, in a small glass with a cute spoon (a large spoon and resultant large bites are a sure fire way of ensuring effective brain freeze!).
Granitas stay well frozen for up to a month. But TBH, I just don’t envision them lasting that long! 🙂
- 4 cups watermelon chunks, deseeded
- 1/3 cup sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water reduced into a syrup)
- 1 tbs lime juice
- 7-8 fresh mint leaves
- Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- Pour into a 9x9x2" metal baking pan or a tupperware/plastic airtight container.
- Freeze the puree for an hour, after which you will need to scrape the puree with a fork.
- Cover and freeze mixture until firm, about 2 hours.
- Using a fork, scrape granita again to give those granules, and serve with a fresh mint leaf.
