Category: Snacks,Desserts,Recipes | Post by: Andrea Wong
Phew, what a hot few days we've been having. Even with all the doors and windows thrown open, I was melting like an ice cream in a glasshouse. On days like these, I dream that I can waterproof the office and dunk the whole lot into a nice, cool pool. This seems somewhat difficult, so I opted for cooling myself from the inside out instead.
On sweltering Sunday, I bought a beautiful watermelon from my favourite vege store ($3) and I knew exactly what I wanted... watermelon granita. Mum has an ice cream machine that I need to borrow :) so in the meantime, a simple granita is the easiest way to get a dose of a nice icy treat. No fancy machinery is required - you don't even need a food processor, although it will be quicker using one. Just grab a sieve, a shallow tray and a fork, and you're away.
After selecting the best watermelon that I could find (choose one that goes "thock thock" when you knock on it and has a nice yellow patch on one side where it was allowed to ripen in the sun on its vine), it was promptly whisked home and cut up, pausing only to take some photos.
The most time consuming part of this recipe is taking out all the seeds from the watermelon flesh, I guess I could have bought a seedless watermelon...
If you're using a food processor, pulse the watermelon instead of a continuous blend, otherwise you might end up with watermelon juice all over your bench... I'm guessing... oh ok yes, I'm speaking from experience!
The next step is to strain the pulp out. If you want a stronger watermelon flavour, leave this step out.
The fun part is checking on the mixture every half an hour after putting it in the freezer and fluffing up the ice crystals with a fork. I love scraping the edges, where the ice first forms.
Grab yourself a bowl and spoon, and dig in! The combination of watermelon, lime and mint is perfect for summer. The citrusy tang and the freshness of mint just begs to be eaten while sitting on a sunny deck, surrounded by a chorus of singing cicadas.
Watermelon, lime and mint granita
Makes about 1.5 litres
Ingredients
1kg watermelon flesh, cut into chunks and the seeds removed
1/3 c lime juice
1/3 c sugar
1 Tbsp mint, finely chopped
Directions
- Put the chopped and seeded watermelon into a foodprocessor and pulse until smooth. Or if you don't have a food processor, use a potato masher and mash well
- In a large bowl, mix the lime juice, sugar and mint together
- Strain the watermelon into the lime mixture. For a stronger watermelon flavour, don't strain and put all of the blended watermelon into the lime mixture
- Pour the whole mixture into a shallow tray (at least 20x30cm)
- Carefully put it in the freezer, making sure its level
- Every 30 minutes, for the next 2-3 hours, scrape the forming ice crystals away from the tray to make the granita fluffy.
Serve and eat immediately, preferably on a sunny deck!
Store any left over granita in the freezer.
