The Teaspoon: Watermelon Citric Granita

By Diana

Appreciating seasons is something I have learnt to do since I came to the UK. My home is a tropical country which weather is divided only in rainy and dry season, and frequently - and weirdly enough- we end up having both at the same time, making everything even more chaotic than how it is already. However we Venezuelans don't talk about it as much as British do talk about their own weather, maybe because it doesn't ruin our crops -or our budgets that are ruined enough. The continuity of the temperature -yes, about 27C all year long- allow us Venezuelans to access fruits like passion fruit and watermelon from January to December. And because it is very hot, we enjoy ourselves and our thirsty appetites with these so called exotic produce -and at reasonable and continuous prices-. What I mean is that the prices do not depend on the season but what is worst, they depend on our politics...

Anyway.. in Britain I had to wait months before buying a £1 watermelon, and I was so exited to have it in my fridge last week -in my new spacious fridge that can actually fit a watermelon without sacrificing the bread- that I decided to celebrate it by posting a summery watermelon granita that I hope you all enjoy!

Ingredients

1 kg watermelon, seedless, skinless and cut into cubes.

200 g caster sugar

400 ml water

2 tablespoons orange and cognac liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or cointreau (optional)

1 Lemon, juice only

Preparation method

1. In a saucepan place the water with the caster sugar and bring it to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid thickens slightly. Allow the syrup to cool down.

2. Add the watermelon cubes (seedless and skinless) to a blender and blend at high speed for about 1 minute or until the watermelon is transformed into a dark pink juice.

3. Strain the juice and pour it to a long shaped metal pan. I used an aluminium baking dish of about 25x34x8 cm.

4. Add the syrup, the lemon juice and the orange and cognac liqueur to the watermelon juice. Mix well and take it to the freezer. Leave it there for 2 hours.

5. Now the fun bit. Take the tray out of the freezer and use the back of a fork to brake the first layers of ice crystals that formed during those 2 hours. Take it back to the freezer for another hour and scrap again. Take it back to the freezer for an additional hour and brake the crystals once more before serving it. Or you can leave it overnight if you prefer. Just remember the scraping!