Granita

Watermelon has summer written all over it. Thank goodness it is full of vitamins C, A, B6 and B1, Potassium and Magnesium and low in calories.

I was thinking of Granita. The Italian dessert made with a simple sugar syrup and a fruit puree.

Then I thought about simple sugar syrup and of my sorbet maker. I Nixed them both. Watermelon is sweet all by itself. I thought it didn't need any extra sugar. I know that lime or mint or another herb might be fun, but today I was curious about Watermelon Granita Simple. Watermelon. Just watermelon. When you make granita, you don't want the processed texture you get from the constant stirring of the sorbet maker. You want ice crystals.

Soooo....... I skinned the watermelon and cut it into chunks and fed it to my blender.

I poured the blended watermelon into a 8x8 Pyrex dish. It took only one blender load to fill the pan. That left 3/4 of the watermelon for eating in chunks. Into the freezer went the blended watermelon. I set the timer for 30 minutes. Every 30 minute, I took out the Pyrex dish and with a fork, broke up the ice crystals that formed around the edges, then across the top and finally throughout the dish. It took about 2 hours to get the right consistency.

It's all about those little slivers of ice that hit your tongue. Brrrrrr. It freezes the top of your mouth if you eat it too fast, so while cooling you down, it slows you down, forcing you to savor every spoonful.

Granita is so simple I imagine a summer full of flavor. Suggestions for flavors: lemon with lemon zest; Strawberry with mint; coffee with a dash of Baileys; Peach with ginger; fig with anise; sweet mango with chipotle pepper. It’s endless.