Watermelon-Lime Granita

We were into halo-halo and patbingsu early on this summer so I made something simpler and for the first time- a granita. A granita is a traditional Italian dessert of pureed fresh fruit and simple syrup and is frozen before serving. It is so easy to make and with just a little creativity, you can serve an impressive ice treat when you are having some ice-cream or any rich frozen treat fatigue.

So I decided to use watermelon, limes, simple syrup and mint leaves. I didn't plan on making granita so I was careless in buying watermelon- I didn't get the seedless one so that was some extra time spent removing the seeds before I was able to puree it. The simple syrup is basically water and sugar boiled just until the sugar dissolves. I just roughly chopped the mint leaves before I added them to the watermelon in the blender. I didn't get that much zest from the limes so I just added extra juice to make up for it.

The combination of watermelon, limes, simple syrup and mint leaves really works. It is so refreshing and scooping some into my mouth in between bites of the watermelon which I used as garnish is a great watermelon experience! Next time you're not so lucky to get a sweet watermelon from the market, do not despair. You can easily turn it into an awesome treat. Here's how :-)

Watermelon-Lime Granita
Recipe adapted from www.recipe.com

Ingredients:
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
6 cups cubed and seeded watermelon
2 tablespoons lime zest
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:
1. Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool.
2. Using a blender, puree watermelon until smooth. Add sugar syrup, lime zest, lime juice, and mint. Pulse until well blended.
3. Pour mixture into a glass dish and freeze. Scrape mixture with a fork every 2 hours to loosen the ice crystals.
4. Serve with a slice of watermelon and fresh mint leaves

Note:

After two hours of freezing, I scraped the mixture with a fork and mixed it using an electric mixer because I want to make sure the extra lime juice I added is evenly distributed. Then I returned it to the dish and back to the freezer it went.
Feel free to add more lime juice- it can only make the granita more delish!

August 5

This should be some sort of an epilogue. I made some at work in keeping and standing by my mantra which is to share my yummy creations and concoctions with my friends. It was a challenge because we don't have enough utensils but it still came out the way I want it.