Watermelon-Tequila Granita

Granita is a frozen dessert that I remember mostly from Sicily. It may have been available throughout Italy, but I remember sitting in piazze all over Palermo, eating granita, and talking about our next day's adventure. I don't remember that gloriously cool rush of icy sugar from when I lived in Rome.

Granita is a dessert that is amazingly simple and flexible. Use any watery fruit. Use any citrus. I whipped this one up after a long weekend up in the redwoods where we camped for my husband's 40th birthday. I needed a dessert for his real birthday dinner, but I didn't feel like baking anything...and I had three mini watermelon that I had forgotten to slice up for the party. It was perfect.

Ingredients

4 C seedless watermelon, cubed (I used one mini watermelon)
1/2 C organic granulated sugar
juice from one organic Meyer lemon
tequila for serving (you can leave out the tequila for a non-alcoholic, kid-friendly version)

Procedure

Purée all ingredients - except for the tequila - in a blender until smooth. Pour into a glass or stainless container. Freeze the mixture for 1 hour. Using a wooden spoon, smash any frozen parts with the back of a fork. Cover and freeze mixture until firm, approximately another 2 to 3 hours. Using the tines of a fork, scrape the granita to form icy flakes.

To serve, spoon granita into glasses. Pour tequila over the top.

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