Tart-sweet and icy cold, lemon granita is just the right refreshing dessert for an unseasonably warm, almost-spring afternoon. Grab a bowlful and pull up a chair on the porch.
We like our lemon treats on the tart side of sweet. Taste the mixture before you freeze it, and add more sugar water if you like. We toss in the juice of a sweet lemon or two when we have them, but make sure you use mainly Meyer lemons or ordinary lemons.
(Makes about one quart)
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1-3/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (see headnote)
- Juice of one small orange or tangerine (optional)
- Pinch of coarse salt
Method:
- Place water and sugar into a microwaveable glass container. Heat on high for about 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool slightly.
- Pour juice into a bowl. Add salt and sugar water. Stir to combine.
- Pour into a 8 or 9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish (or similar). Carefully place into the freezer. Freeze for about one hour, until ice crystals have begun to form. Stir with a fork to break up the ice and return to the freezer. After half an hour repeat, stirring and raking with the fork to break up the ice into small bits. Continue this process every half hour for about 2-3 hours until the granita is the consistency of a slushy snow cone.
- Serve in bowls by itself, with fresh fruit or chopped mint.
Variation: Ginger-Lemon Granita — add one-eighth to one-quarter teaspoon ground ginger (to taste) to sugar-water-juice mixture before freezing. Stir well to combine. Freeze following instructions above.
