A tasty and thirst-quenching granita is always welcome! Typically summer, granita is a cold spoon dessert, which is part of the traditional Sicilian breakfast and cuisine. It is a semi-frozen liquid mixture, the preparation of which involves water, sugar and juice of whatever you prefer. Together with sorbet , it is considered the progenitor of ice cream, however it has a grainier and creamier consistency than the latter. Furthermore, depending on the area in which it is prepared, the compactness makes it very similar to its sorbet companion.
Granita and its secrets
The preparation of granita is the simplest in the world and has very ancient origins. In fact, the Greeks and Romans already used to mix fruit juice with snow. But the credit for the Sicilian granita recipe as we taste it now goes to the Arabs , who introduced citrus fruits and sugar cane to our island. A little secret for preparing the classic granita is to macerate a lemon split in four in a liter of water for about an hour. In this way the aromatic substances present both in the zest and in the lemon will dissolve in the water. This process will make the granita very fresh, thirst-quenching and low in calories, with a very intense flavour.
Here is the recipe for lemon granita , the Sicilian fruit par excellence. Externally yellow and internally white, this Sicilian specialty has a particularly sour and juicy pulp, rich in vitamin C: ideal for sipping a good, genuine and healthy drink.
Ingredients
- 750 ml of water
- 350 g of sugar
- 180 ml of lemon juice
Preparation
Boil the water with the sugar for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the heat and let it cool. As soon as it is cold, add the filtered lemon juice and place the mixture in the freezer, in a metal container.
Stir it very often with a spoon, to prevent it from becoming a block of ice: this is the secret of its graininess!
The next day, remove the container from the freezer half an hour before serving the granita. When the ice begins to melt, work the granita thoroughly with a mixer or with an immersion whisk , until you reach the desired level of creaminess.
If, however, you wish to add other types of fruit, coffee, or anything else, just replace these ingredients with lemon and that's it!
