It’s been a while…
The reason is that I am on vacation, back home in Berlin – hot and sunny Berlin!

The temperature keeps hitting the mid thirties here and all I feel like eating when it’s this hot is ice cream. And even ice cream can be too rich when you’re in need of a rehydrating refreshment to help cool down, therefore my choice tends to be a juicy sorbet or granita.

I got introduced to granita in Sicily, where it’s more popular than Italian gelato. I also kept eating it in NYC last summer, where it’s sometimes also called shaved ice. Either way, I decided to make one and give you the receipe – for when you can’t face a rich brunch…

You’ll need:

• 8 cups of cubed watermelon (seedless or seeds removed!)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• the juice of 3 limes
• 1 cup of fresh mint

Dissolve the sugar in the water by stiring it together in a small saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has disappeared.

Increase the heat and boil the sugar water until it becomes a little more syrup like, for about 3 minutes. Set aside to let it cool.

Blend the watermelon with the lime juice – in two batches – until it all becomes a juicy slush. Chop the mint and add it, along with the cooled down sugar syrup and mix all ingredients together.

Transfer the mix in to a shallow’ish metal or plastic and freeze this for about 4-5 hours, scraping the mixture with a fork every 40 minutes to mix the frozen bits from the bottom and sides into the unfrozen middle.

When you’re happy with the consistency, pile it into glasses (and if you like, serve with a little extra mint and little slice of watermelon). 

The granita is best eaten on the day it’s made.