Watermelon Granita

During the summer months, I feel the need to eat fresh fruit. I know that the season is short so I feel like I need to indulge in as much as I can. While grocery shopping with Blythe, she requested that we buy a watermelon. Who can refuse your child wanting to buy fruit? So I bought it. Once we got home I realized that it would be hard for the 3 of us to consume the entire watermelon so I started a search of recipes for watermelon. When I stumbled upon this Watermelon Granita Recipe from Pioneer Woman, I knew that it was a must try recipe.

Usually, I like recipes that include pictures but I was a little scared by how my version was panning out. It did not look like the pictures!  Thankfully, my final result was delicious. There was just a little foaming in the process. If that happens when you try this, just continue on.

You simply pour the mixture into a 9×13 and let it freeze. Every hour or so simply take a spoon (I found it to be easier than a fork) and scrape off the frozen crystals. I made a second batch and thought I could let it sit overnight before scraping the ice crystals. I ended up with a giant sheet of watermelon ice. Not the result I was hoping for. Learn from my mistake and take the time to scrape it every couple of hours.

Watermelon Granita

This is the perfect sweet treat for a hot summer day.

Ingredients
8 Cups seedless watermelon, cubed with rind discarded
2 limes, juiced
1/3 cup sugar

Place 4 cups watermelon, juice of 1 lime and ½ of the sugar in a blender. (I just eyeballed half of 1/3 cup.)
Blend until smooth. Pour into 9×13.

Repeat with second half of ingredients.

Freeze mixture for two hours, then begin the process of lightly scraping the top, frozen layer. Return pan to freezer leaving the shaved ice on top. Remove the dish another 2 hours later and scrape the ice crystals off again. Repeat the scraping process every couple of hours until the entire mixture is shaved. Store, covered in plastic wrap or in a large tuperware container, until serving.

Adapted Slightly from Pioneer Woman