We’ve made this granita with both honeydew and watermelon. Both were equally good, so we recommend using whichever melon is your favorite. Our version, made with basil and a strong, wild honey, tastes like a summer afternoon and makes a silky, smooth, ice-cold dessert. Glad we made a double recipe and froze the rest. In mid-January, it’ll be a nice reminder of hot August days.
Watermelon [i]Granita[/i]
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 6 cups honeydew or watermelon, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 cup good honey
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup, by heating the water and sugar and stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. When room temperature, place the syrup in the fridge until it’s thoroughly chilled, at least 3-4 hours.
- Put 2 9 by 13 inch metal pans in the freezer until well-chilled, at least an hour.
- Combine all the ingredients, including the simple syrup, in a food processor and process until smooth. Depending on the size of your processor, you may need to do this in two batches.
- Pour the melon mixture equally into the two pans and place in the freezer. After 30 minutes, using a fork, scrape the ice crystals away from the sides of the pans and then stir the mixture thoroughly and place it back in the freezer. Repeat this process every 30 minutes until the[i] granita[/i] is completely frozen.
- Spoon the granita into a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze until you serve it.
