World Tour: Italian Lemon Granita

[ 1 ] February 18, 2011 | Archele

It’s been a beautiful past couple of days in North Carolina; however, the cold weather will be returning in a few days [insert sadface here]. In the meantime, I plan on using the sunny weather as a chance to take advantage of a easy and delicious recipe from Buddy Valastro for Italian lemon granita (or Italian ice, as I call it). I have mentioned my HUGE desire to hop on a flight to Italy in the past and I’m always looking for ways to satisfy my yearning for “cucina di Italia,” so a sweet, cold lemon granita will be perfect for a surprisingly warm weekend. It’s insanely simple! I might just make a pan of lemon and a pan of strawberry too!

Picture via Social Vixen

INGREDIENTS

Long strips of zest from one lemon
1	cup fresh lemon juice
2	cups water
2/3	cup sugar*
2	small bruised sprigs rosemary

* This is puckery- sweet (Buddy’s taste). If you want the granita sweeter, you can increase by 1-2 tablespoons sugar.

PREPARATION:

Bring all ingredients to a boil in saucepan, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes. Place in refrigerator and chill completely.
Strain mixture into a 9″ x 9″ x 1-1/2″ cake pan. Place in the freezer. Set a timer for thirty minutes. With a fork, scrape frozen crystals of granita from the edges of the pan towards the middle. Repeat every 1/2 hour, scraping where needed, until mixture is a frozen, icy fluff — 2 – 3 hours.

This Italian treat, among many others will have to hold me over until my United Airlines points have built up. In the meantime, my kitchen will be my Italian getaway. Try it and let us know how it came out 🙂

Recipe: Courtesy of TLC