Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Watermelon Granita

So I found myself with some watermelon....
yep, those are all from my garden!
My watermelon that decided to come up all by themselves from last year.
Now, we love watermelon...but one family can only eat so much!
I have never tried freezing watermelon before.
Come to find out...it's delicious.

Watermelon Granita
6 cups watermelon (seeds removed)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar*

*several recipes called for more sugar, but I started with 1/4 cup and that was plenty. I think we could have omitted the extra sugar all together, since watermelon is pretty sweet all on its own.

Directions - puree watermelon in a food processor or blender (I used the food processor). Add lime juice and sugar (if using) and give it a few pulses to mix. Pour into freezable container.  Let freeze 1 to 2 hours then mix. Place back into freezer to harden.  Scrape with fork and serve.

Of course, if you're like me, you forget about the granita in the freezer and go to bed, skipping the whole mixing part at 1-2 hours.  Then you have a frozen block in the morning.  No problem.  Let sit at room temp until it starts to melt some, take a fork and scrape away.  This is delicious and refreshing.  I was amazed at how much flavor the lime juice adds to the watermelon.  
Here, have some...
For an adult treat, you can also add tequila for frozen watermelon margaritas! YUM!

We also made watermelon popsicles, with just pureed watermelon.  Blend it up and pour into popsicle molds.  The kids love it and it's a convenient way to eat watermelon!

I'm linking this recipe up with Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party, Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff,  Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Made from Scratch Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday @ For The Love Of Blogs

15 comments:

  1. Oooh! I never had frozen watermelon before! That looks really good! :)

    *Stopping by from FTLOB!

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  2. Our garden too is producing gorgeous watermelons this year so I have been freezing a lot of juice.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  3. YUM! Never had frozen watermelon before, but it's looks so tasty!

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  4. Frozen watermelon smoothies are really good too. Just blend up some frozen melon and some yogurt and milk.

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  5. Oh wow, that looks so good. I can't believe those big watermelons came from your garden. I bet they are way better than the ones from the store. Stopping by from Tasty Tuesday.

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  6. Yummy, love that they are from your garden, gorgeous. I've never had luck growing watermelon. That granita is calling my name.

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  7. Oh this looks so good! I love watermelon and this looks like a real refreshing way to serve it!!

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  8. omg! Your granita looks fantastic! I sure wish you could share one of those watermelons with me. I have not had one single watermelon this year. Sad sad! Usually by now, I have had four or five. That has to be the one thing that I dislike about moving to New England. I have yet to find a decent looking watermelon this year. They are all small, round and expensive.

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  9. This looks incredibly refreshing! I linked to you from Made from Scratch Tuesday. I can't wait to try this. Thanks!

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  10. How cool!! Look at all those watermelons!! It's like our garden, but ours has been taken over by butternut squash....

    You should definitely try this watermelon salsa recipe;

    http://www.candidrd.com/2009/05/watermelon-salsa-and-other-good-eats.html

    It's amazing and tastes even better with blue corn tortilla chips! Or, over a white fish or scallops.

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  11. YUM! What a great summertime treat... I'm definitely going to make some of the adult version of these this weekend!
    -Rachel

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  12. WoW! What a bounty, thanks for sharing this great treat with the Hearth and Soul hop!

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  13. That is awesome, I love watermelon!

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  14. That looks incredible! Especially on a hot Oklahoma day. If your blender / processor will do it...the seeds are actually very healthy!

    Thanks for sharing at the hearth and soul hop.

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