Lemon Slurpee Granita Food

LEMON RICOTTA GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir the water and 3/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat just until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the lemon juice. Pour the lemon mixture into an 8-inch square glass dish. Cover and freeze, stirring occasionally, until the liquid just becomes slushy, about 2 hours. Using a fork, scrape the granita every 30 minutes until it is completely made up of ice crystals. (The granita can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen, and scrape every so often so that the crystals stay loose.)
• Whisk the ricotta, remaining sugar, and pinch of salt in a medium bowl to blend. Spoon the granita into dessert bowls. Top with a dollop of the ricotta. Zest the lemon peel over the desserts and serve.

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• Clean and wash the lemons. Cut off the top 1/4 of the lemons and shave a small slice off the bottom so it stands easily.
• Using a grapefruit knife, cut out the flesh of the lemon and place in a strainer set over a bowl. Be careful not to cut through the bottom. Stand the lemons on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer and freeze until solid.
• Press the flesh of the lemons through the strainer to extract all of the juice. You should end up with about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice. Add the water to the lemon juice. Stir in sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is of desired sweetness. Add the thyme and limoncello and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Strain the mixture into a roasting pan or baking dish. The dish should be large enough so the liquid is not more than 1-inch deep. Freeze the mixture for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and scrape with 2 forks to break up ice. Return to the freezer and freeze until solid, about 2 to 3 hours, scraping with forks every hour or so.
• When the granite is frozen, scoop it into the frozen lemon shells and serve immediately.

ZESTY LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and thyme. Transfer to an 8-in. square dish; cool to room temperature., Remove thyme sprigs. Freeze for 1 hour; stir with a fork. Freeze 2-3 hours longer or until completely frozen, stirring every 30 minutes., Stir granita with a fork just before serving; spoon into dessert dishes. Garnish with lemon zest.

LEMON-POMELO GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Pour pureed pomelo and lemon juice into a pie plate. Stir in lemon zest and cooled syrup until combined. Place the dish, uncovered, in the freezer until mixture is just starting to freeze around the edges but still slushy in the middle, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the mixture from the outer edges inward. Place back into the freezer, and continue to scrape with a fork about every hour until the granita is light and fluffy.

AUTHENTIC SICILIAN GRANITA AL LIMONE

Steps:

• Pour water and sugar into a saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring until sugar melts; do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat when the sugar has completely dissolved and the water is no longer cloudy. Add lemon juice and stir until combined. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Pour into a freezer-safe dish that has a tight lid. Cover and put into the freezer until it begins to freeze around the edges, but is still slushy in the center, about 45 minutes.
• Lightly stir the crystals from the edge of the granita mixture into the center using a fork and mix thoroughly. Replace the lid. Close the freezer and chill until granita is nearly frozen, 30 to 40 more minutes.
• Mix lightly with a fork as before, scraping the crystals loose. Repeat freezing and stirring with the fork 3 to 4 times until crystals are separate and the granita is light, dry, and fluffy.
• Serve each portion with 1/2 of a lemon wheel and fresh lemon zest on top.

LEMON SLURPEE (GRANITA)

Steps:

• Boil water and sugar together for a few minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
• Cool and add orange blossom water and lemon juice.
• Stir well and pour into a mold or refrigerator trays.
• Cover with foil and place in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator, set at the lowest setting.
• As the ice freezes a little, beat lightly with a fork without removing it from the trays to reduce the size of the crystals.
• Repeat a few times at 1/2-hour intervals.
• Transfer from the freezer to another part of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving.
• Serve, if you like, in scooped-out lemon halves.

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• With a vegetable peeler remove zest in long pieces from 2 lemons. Squeeze 1/2 cup juice from lemons.
• In a small heavy saucepan heat water and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in zest and transfer syrup to a bowl to cool. Chill syrup, covered, until cold. Discard zest and stir in lemon juice.
• For eastern-Sicilian granita:
• Freeze lemon mixture in an ice-cream maker until spoonable but not crumbly and serve immediately.
• For western-Sicilian granita:
• Freeze lemon mixture in a metal bowl, stirring every 30 minutes to remove ice crystals from side of bowl, until liquid has become granular but is still slightly slushy, about 3 to 4 hours. Serve granita immediately.