Happy Summer with Watermelon-Arak Granita :)

The summer is here and so are WATERMELONS! In fact, when I think of summer, I think of two things, watermelon and Israel! 🙂

Every summer I take the kids to Israel to spend time with our family and friends and to enjoy the beautiful land of Israel. We spend a lot of time in Ashkelon, my hometown. Ashkelon is located slightly to the south of Israel and right on the Mediterranean Sea.

Growing up in Ashkelon and so close to the sea made almost every summer day a beach day. Walking to the beach with family and friends was a spontaneous call and because there was very little planning involved, we didn’t take much with us; the only two important things were towels and watermelon. My childhood is filled with many sweet watermelon memories. I remember the great feeling of taking a brake on the beach after playing in the water. Sitting on the warm sand with a HUGE and cold piece of watermelon was one of the best parts of our day at the beach.

Granita is such a refreshing summer treat! The combination of fruit, sugar, and liquid is gradually flaked into tiny pieces of flavored ice. The texture is wonderful and the flavor options are endless… This time I went with a watermelon-lime Granita and alleviated this great combination of flavors with Arak.

Arak is a traditional Middle Eastern alcoholic drink made from grapes, figs or dates. It is then infused with dry Anise seeds or leaves, which give the drink its unique flavor. There is a wide variety of Arak and the drink is usually mixed with ice or cold water and is served with mint leaves, lemon or almond extract. Arak is well known in Israel as well as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

Today I use “Arak Zachlawi” – A fig Arak of Zachla, Lebanon that is known for high quality and wonderful taste notes.

You will need:

(Serves 8-10 people)

1 kilo (2.2 lb.) Watermelon

¼ cup Sugar

2 tbsp. Arak (or any other preferred alcohol)

¼ cup fresh Lime Juice (2 Limes)

1 tsp. Vanilla Paste/Extract

¼ cup Fresh Mint Leaves

¼ tsp. Salt

For Plating:

Lime Zest (+2 tsp. Sugar)

Feta Cheese

Reduced Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh Mint Leaves

Let’s do this!

Making granita is quite simple! First all the granita components are going into a blender.

Cut the watermelon into cubes. Size doesn’t really matter here since it will all be blended in the blender.

Let’s handle the beautiful limes!

Before I juice them, I like using lime zest to top this granita. So let’s do a short topping prep: Zest the limes. Although long pieces of zest look very pretty for garnish, I find that cutting them into smaller pieces make the zest more pleasant to eat.

You can decide, if you use just a little lime zest for garnish at the top, long and curly zest will look pretty; if you’d like to have zest pieces throughout the granita for eating purposes, make sure to cut them into smaller pieces.

Once you decide, put the lime zest into a small bowl and sprinkle it with 2 teaspoons of sugar and mix it around just for even coating. Set aside until it is time to serve.

Back to the limes…

I used 2 limes and hand squeezed them into a quarter cup of fresh lime juice.

In the blender, combine our granita friends: watermelon cubes, sugar, fresh lime juice, Arak, vanilla paste, fresh mint leaves and salt.

Blend into a unified mixture and pour into a baking dish.

I find that metal baking dish allows the granita to freeze faster with even results rather then a glass or ceramic dish.

Carefully transfer the granita mixture into the freezer. Since granita needs to be scraped every 30 minutes for 4 to 5 times, place it in a location that will be easy for you to reach. After 30 minutes, use a fork to scrape and flake the mixture.

After the first scraping, the granita looks more like a melting slushy.

Repeat the process for 4 or 5 times as the mixture gradually turns into small and flaky pieces of ice.

Hi beautiful GRANITA! When the granita is ready cover and store in the freezer until it is time to serve.

Time to Serve! Now, Let’s have FUN!

Scoop the granita into serving cups. You may use the sugar coated lime zest as a garnish or mix it into the granita. Add crumbled Feta cheese and fresh mint leaves.

To go all out and give even more contrast of flavors, drizzle Balsamic vinegar reduction on top and Viola! Don’t stare too long or you granita will melt 🙂

Happy Summer! Enjoy Every Bite!

—————————————————————————–
Quick Recipe:

Watermelon-Arak Granita-

In a blender, combine Watermelon pieces, Sugar, fresh Lime Juice, Arak, Mint Leaves, Vanilla Paste and Salt.

Blend into a smooth and unified mixture.

Pour into a (metal) baking dish and carefully transfer to the freezer.

Scrape every 30 minutes for 4 or 5 times.

Serve the Granita topped with sugar coated Lime Zest, crumbled Feta Cheese, fresh Mint Leaves or/and Balsamic Vinegar reduction.