Mmmm Mojito Granita

Sounds yummy, doesn't it? It's shockingly easy, too. Really. Granita in general is a great, totally overlooked, dessert. It sounds so fancy and tastes so heavenly, yet it's super simple to make. I do strawberry, watermelon, expresso, or whatever I have on hand granita. I've never had one turn out badly.

In my efforts to return to summer, bring on Mojito Granitas!

You'll need:

2 1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c lightly packed fresh mint leaves
8 limes, juiced
Zest of 3 limes (use the zest from the limes you juice and zest first!)
4 T rum

Add the water to a nonreactive saucepan.



Pour in the sugar.

Zest the lime directly into the pot. Then turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir periodically until you have all the sugar dissolved.

Set aside a half dozen or so mint leaves for later in the recipe. You don't want to be like me and forget and have to fish out mint leaves! Place the larger portion of mint leaves into the pot and turn off the heat. Cover and let it stand for 10 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Chop those reserved mint leaves finely.

I find it easiest to place the mixture into a measuring cup at this point.

Pour the cooled mixture through a strainer and into a 9x13 metal pan (don't use nonstick). I freeze my pan for awhile beforehand to make the freezing process go faster. Press on the cooked mint leaves to get all the yummy goodness out of them.

Add the lime juice to the pan.

Mmmmmm and the rum, too! Did I mention adding the minced mint leaves?

Your pan should look like this. Good job, wasn't that easy? Put it in the freezer. Carefully!

After a half hour, remove the pan from the freezer and use a fork to scrape the ice. This will force it to fluff up and form nice small(er) crystals.

Keep doing this every thirty or so minutes, until it's totally frozen and fluffly, like below!

Keep it in the freezer until you serve, as it melts quickly. If you like more or less lime flavor, adjust the juice and zest appropriately. Don't put more rum than this calls for, however, or it won't ever freeze!

Enjoy!