Summer Recipes: Lemon Granita

Here's a simple and easy dessert recipe to make, a lemon granita. Granita is nothing more than an frozen ice sugar solution that's fluffed up before serving, and a classic in Sicilian households. This recipe serves 6, so if you want to make any portion of that batch, its really easy to scale.

1.25 cups of lemon juice, freshly squeezed (could take anywhere from 5-7 lemons)

Lemon zest from 2 lemons

1 cup superfine sugar (This is just regular sugar that's been further ground to smaller crystals)

2 cups water

1. Heat the lemon juice, zest, and sugar in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, take the sugar mixture off the heat and let it cool. The last part is important, because if you don't, not only will the mixture not freeze properly, but the container you place it in could break in the freezer from a temperature shock.

2. Add in the water and mix well.

3. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish, and place in the freezer.

4. About every 30 minutes, use a fork to scrape crystallizing mixture from the sides of the dish, and mix into the center of the dish.

5. After approximately 2 hours, the granita should be ready. Fluff with a fork and serve in cups. Add some additional lemon zest for garnish.

The good thing about this granita recipe is that it goes very well with any kind of seasonal fruit you have available. Mix with strawberries, limes, cherries, or any other fruit you desire, and enjoy!