Watermelon Granite Food

WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Place half the watermelon, half the lime juice, and half the sugar in a blender. Process until smooth, then pour into a separate bowl. Repeat with other half of ingredients. Pour into same bowl as other batch.Transfer mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Freeze for two or three hours, then begin the process of lightly scraping the top, frozen layer. Return pan to freezer with the shaved ice on top; remove a couple of hours later and continue scraping. Repeat the occasional scraping process until the entire mixture is shaved. Store, covered in plastic wrap, until serving. Serve in pretty glasses with a twist of lime. *Note: if you use a regular watermelon with black seeds, lightly blend the watermelon first, then push through a strainer to get rid of the seeds/seed particles. Then continue the recipe above.

WATERMELON, LIME AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Working in 2 batches, puree watermelon in a food processor. Strain puree through a sieve and strain out solids, forcing liquid out with a wooden spoon. Discard solids. Combine the watermelon puree, lime juice, mint and sugar in a 9 by 13-inch metal pan. Place mixture in the freezer, scraping thoroughly with a fork every 20 to 30 minutes for about 2 1/2 hours, or until the granita resembles coarse crystals. Scrape 1 last time and spoon into parfait glasses or bowls. Top with a mint sprig.

WATERMELON-RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have completely broken down, about 6 minutes.
• Press the raspberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a blender; let cool completely. Add the watermelon and lime juice and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish.
• Freeze until ice crystals begin forming around the edges, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan, then continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes, until frozen, about 4 hours.

WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Cut about 1 pound watermelon into small chunks (discarding the rind), and freeze them. When they're frozen, put them in a blender with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and blend until the mixture liquefies. Pour the mixture into a shallow glass or ceramic pan, and freeze for about 2 hours, breaking up the ice crystals with a fork every 30 minutes or so. It should be slushy and crunchy.

WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Place watermelon chunks in blender and blend briefly to coarse puree. Measure sieved puree; it should have yielded 3 cups.
• Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 1 minute. Let cool completely and combine with watermelon puree and lemon juice. Pour mixture in 8x12 metal pan and place in refrigerator. When completely chilled, cover pan, move to freezer and freeze 30 minutes. Stir mixture with fork, scraping down sides well to loosen ice crystals that have formed. Freeze another 30 minutes and repeat scraping and stirring. Repeat several times, or for a total of 23 hours, until mixture ice evenly icy and crystalled throughout. Serve within 68 hours.

WATERMELON GRANITA PARFAIT

Steps:

• Make the granita: Puree the unevenly cut watermelon, honey, half the lime zest and juice from 1 of the limes in a blender on low speed until smooth. Pour into a 9-by-11-inch or 9-by-13-inch baking dish and freeze until it hardens completely, 3 to 4 hours.
• Whip the cream: Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, then whip the cream in the mixer on medium speed until it holds fairly stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Get ready: Arrange the watermelon cubes in a single layer on a clean work surface and add a tiny sprinkle of the sea salt and some sugar and the remaining lime zest and juice.
• Assemble: Arrange a few cubes of watermelon in the bottom of each serving glass or dish. Put a tablespoon of sorbet on top of the watermelon. Spoon a generous tablespoon whipped cream over the sorbet. Use the tines of a fork to scrape some of the granita off the surface. Sprinkle a generous tablespoon of the granita over the cream. Repeat the same order of layers 1 to 2 more times. Serve immediately.

WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Slice, peel, and cube 6 cups of watermelon. Combine coarsely chopped watermelon, sugar, and lime juice in a bowl and let stand until macerated and juicy, 25 minutes.
• Process in a blender until just smooth, then pass through a China cap using the back of a ladle. Transfer to a shallow metal tray and remove the foam on top. Freeze, stirring and scraping occasionally with a fork until crystals form and granita is frozen (2-4 hours). Every 20-30 minutes, scrape a fork through the mixture to create the crystals.
• To serve, divide finely diced watermelon among chilled serving glasses and top with granita. Drizzle with vodka (optional) and serve immediately.