My favorite season is over.  Soon it will be time for “the move”:  summer clothes will go into storage, while long sleeves, sweaters and coats will return to my closet.   My sandals will be gone, and with them the nice tan on my feet… The poor babies will be hiding in socks and shoes for months!

To say goodbye to Summer, I picked a yellow watermelon and turned it into granita. Watermelon is my beloved’s favorite fruit.  His ritual is to sit on the couch with a huge slice dangerously balancing on a plate, and our dogs locked into full begging mode close by. The dogs are watermelon maniacs;  they can smell it from several rooms away.

Granita is a refreshing classic, conveying the essence of Summer’s bliss with each spoonful.

WATERMELON GRANITA

Make a simple syrup
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Heat until sugar is completely dissolved; cool to room temperature.

Make the fruit juice
Watermelon pieces
1 T lemon juice
pinch of salt

Juice the watermelon (easier if using seedless fruit, but we prefer to buy the regular kind).   Measure the amount, you will need a minimum of 3 cups.

For three cups of juice, add the full amount of simple syrup made, the lemon juice and salt.  Mix well.

Make the granita:
Pour the mixture in a glass baking dish, 9×13 inches, or 8×8 inches.  Depending on how thick the layer is, the longer it will take to freeze.  Place it in the freezer, and every half an hour (or 45 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your dish), scrape it with a fork to destroy the ice crystals forming on the edges, then place it back in the freezer.  Do this several times, maybe 4 or 5 times,  until the mixture is completely frozen. It will  take from 3 to 6 hours.

To serve, scrape the frozen granita with the tines of a fork into a serving bowl. Decorate with mint (which you can also add to the juice, I normally do that, but forgot this time), and….

ENJOY!

To print the recipe, click here.

from our farmer’s market….

you will need one of this…. or a sieve + elbow grease….

to make a few cups of this….

just a few hours later….. your reward!

CANTINHO BRASILEIRO

GRANITA DE MELANCIA

para a calda…
1 xicara de agua
1/2 xicara de acucar granulado
Aquecer ate’ que o acucar dissolva por completo, e esfriar ate’ temperatura ambiente.

para o suco…
pedacos de melancia (ou outra fruta de sua preferencia)
1 colher de sopa de suco de limauma pitada de sal
Faca um suco com os pedacos da fruta passando em um espremedor. Para essa receita, tres xicaras sera’ suficiente. Misture com a calda, adicione o suco de limao e o sal.

para fazer a granita…
Despeje a mistura em um forma retangular de pyrex, de forma que o liquido seja relativamente raso, para que congele rapidamente.  Coloque no freezer. A cada meia hora ou 45 minutos (dependendo do tamanho e formato do recipiente), passe um garfo para destruir os cristais de gelo em formacao nas bordas do pyrex. Continue a fazer essa raspagem misturando bem o liquido, ate’ que esteja completamente congelado (3 a 6 horas).

Para servir, raspe a granita em uma tigela, decorando com folhas de hortela,  se quiser.

BOM APETITE!