Zesty Lemon Granita Food

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.

GRANITA AL LIMONE (ITALIAN LEMON GRANITA)

Steps:

• Place the water, sugar, lemon juice and zest, if using, in a small pan. Warm over a medium heat until it at most reaches a simmer (don't boil), stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. You can speed this up after a few minutes by placing the mixture in the fridge.
• Once cool, strain the mixture if you prefer not to have the zest in there, and pour into in a wide, shallow container such as a loaf pan. Place the container in the freezer.
• Take it out at roughly 30 minute intervals. When you take it out, use a fork to break up the ice crystals, pulling them in from the edge of the container. Once broken up evenly, re-freeze and repeat after another 30 minutes.
• Once the mixture is close to completely frozen, fluff it up one last time then scoop into glasses to serve.

MELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Peel, halve, and seed melons; cut into chunks and place in medium-sized bowl, reserving ½ cup of the melon chunks in another small container.
• To the reserved ½ cup of melon, add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice; toss to coat; cover and refrigerate.
• To remaining larger bowl of melon, add sugar, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, allspice, pepper (if using) and nutmeg; toss to mix; cover and marinate melon in refrigerator for 2-12 hours.
• Strain juices from larger bowl of melon chunks into a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat and cook 1 minute; remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Combine marinated melon chunks and reduced juices in a food processor or blender; puree until smooth; pour into a bowl, cover, and chill for 2 hours.
• Pour pureed and chilled mixture into ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's directions; serve topped with reserved diced melon and fresh mint sprigs.
• NOTE: The name "granita" comes from a Spanish word meaning small grain or, by association, granular texture.

MEYER LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the zest, water, mint springs, and agave or sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir for about one minute.
• Remove from the heat, and allow the syrup to cool slightly in the refrigerator.
• When chilled, strain out the lemon zest and the mint sprigs.
• Stir the lemon juice into the chilled syrup. Taste to make sure the mixture is not too tart; if it is, add a little more sugar.
• Pour the mixture into a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish (metal, ceramic, or glass), so the mixture is about an inch deep.
• Place in the freezer.
• Every 30 minutes stir with a fork, scraping the crystals down from the side of the dish.
• When the granita is slightly slushy, but definitely frozen hard, with small firm granules of ice, it's done. It will take 2-3 hours to get to this stage.
• The granita may be transferred to an airtight container and stored for a couple hours before serving.
• Remove the granita from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving, so it softens slightly.
• Serve in dessert bowls or glasses.

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine sugar with 1 1/2 cups water; bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat, leave to cool, then refrigerate until cold. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Pour lemon syrup into a square metal cake pan and place in freezer. Freeze 2 hours in all, removing pan from freezer every 30 minutes, stirring and scraping with a metal fork until ice crystals break up. After 2 hours, granita will resemble snow. Scrape into 4 dessert goblets and serve with a spoon and a straw if desired.

LIMONCELLO GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the simple syrup, mascarpone cheese, limoncello, and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until the mixture is firm.
• Using the tines of a fork, scrape the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses. Serve immediately.
• Lemon Simple Syrup
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, lemon zest, and lemon juice over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.
• Yield: 1 3/4 cups