Refreshing Watermelon Granita

A cool summer treat!

I hosted a Garden Luncheon for 8 girls (I'd say ladies, but we're all so young at heart, girls seems more appropriate) a couple weeks ago, and I served this amazing cool treat as a palette cleanser before dessert.  I saw this recipe in one of my magazines and was anxious to give it a try.  When I was vacationing over July 4th at the shore, I was craving watermelon Italian ice.  I'm sure such a thing exists, but was unsuccessful in finding any.  So when I came across this recipe, I knew it would be a suitable alternative.  It was not only suitable, it was better than what I imagined the Italian ice version would be.  Here's how I made it:

Ingredients, simple:  Simple syrup, 1 lime, sliced and approx. 10 cups watermelon, cut into 1" chunks

To make a simple syrup, combine 1/3 C sugar & 1/3 C water in a medium saucepan.  Heat until it comes to a boil, stirring continually until the sugar dissolves. Add the sliced lime and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat, strain and cool.

In the meantime, cut up the watermelon.  Once the syrup has cooled, place the watermelon & the syrup into a food processor, processing 1/2 batch at a time until smooth.  Pour the entire mixture into a 13x9x2 glass dish and place in the freezer.  Every 45 minutes remove from the freezer, break up with a fork and return to the freezer.  Do this over a 3-4 hour period until the mixture has become a sparkly dish of frozen flakiness.

To serve, pile into individual bowls or martini glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint.
Note:  Try to time it so it's ready when you are.  It should be served immediately as the mixture will harden over time.  If you're unable to time it as so, you can always put small batches in the food processor to break it up.  However, the consistency is not as good as when it's served immediately after it's ready.

The lime adds a wonderfully subtle "something extra" to the taste.  I didn't think I would like it and almost didn't put it in, but I'm glad I did.

"Oh, oh Granita, we can make it together!"