Melon Granita

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 18 mins Cook Time: 2 mins

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ripe honeydews or 2 lbs cantaloupe or 2 lbs persian melon
• 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (divided)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, zest of, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (optional)
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• fresh mint sprig, garnish (optional)

Recipe

• 1 peel, halve, and seed melons; cut into chunks and place in medium-sized bowl, reserving ½ cup of the melon chunks in another small container.
• 2 to the reserved ½ cup of melon, add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice; toss to coat; cover and refrigerate.
• 3 to remaining larger bowl of melon, add sugar, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, allspice, pepper (if using) and nutmeg; toss to mix; cover and marinate melon in refrigerator for 2-12 hours.
• 4 strain juices from larger bowl of melon chunks into a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat and cook 1 minute; remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• 5 combine marinated melon chunks and reduced juices in a food processor or blender; puree until smooth; pour into a bowl, cover, and chill for 2 hours.
• 6 pour pureed and chilled mixture into ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's directions; serve topped with reserved diced melon and fresh mint sprigs.
• 7 note: the name "granita" comes from a spanish word meaning small grain or, by association, granular texture.