Watermelon Granita
Watermelon Granita
Watermelon Granita
A Granita has a fine texture of snow and looks wonderful served in a glass. This Watermelon Granita is Fat free, Gluten Free and Dairy Free. The children love it as it gets warmer as it’s very refreshing. You don’t need any fancy or expensive equipment for this.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
115 g caster sugar
300 ml water
500 g watermelon
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
Method:
Dissolve the sugar in the water in a medium pan over a low heat. Add in the juice of the lemon and the rind. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then leave to cool. Once cool, chill in the fridge.
Peel the watermelon and then puree. You can leave the seeds in and puree and then strain with a sieve which will catch all of the seeds. Push the puree through the sieve gently with the back of a spoon. Discard the seeds and any other parts left in the sieve.
Place the mixture into a measuring jug and add the sugar syrup. If it doesn’t come up to 1 litre then add cold water.
Pour this mixture into a freezer container. The container should be long and shallow as the mixture should be no more than 1 inch deep.
Freeze this in the coldest part of the freezer for 2 hours. The mixture should be mushy around the edges.
Remove from the freezer and beat with a fork to break up the ice crystals.
Return to the freezer and repeat every 30 minutes for 2 hours.
Best served soon after making but if you need to leave it overnight, then mix with a fork to break up the ice crystals.
Looks stunning served in a glass with herbs or pretty edible flowers on top.
Additional Notes:
My freezer is a bit fierce so I always check the Granita after an hour and break up with a form then.
Change the taste of this dish by adding lime, orange or herbs to the sugar and water when it is being dissolved.
Perhaps add a drop of vodka or martini to the mixture before freezing. Not too much or it may not freeze at all! Remember this is then just for the adults of the family.
If you have an ice cream maker then start chilling the watermelon granita in this until ice crystals start to form and then transfer to the freezer container and break up with a fork.
Equipment Used:
Medium sized pan
Sieve or strainer
Blender for pureeing the fruit or a fork
Freezer proof container.
