Lemon granita recipe: a refreshing Sicilian breakfast

If you're feeling like a cold treat, try out this refreshing Italian ice recipe, Granita!

Published on19 01 2021

This refreshing frozen lemon drink is traditional to the Sicilian region and is served with a brioche or eaten alone for breakfast.

What is the difference between granita and sorbet?

Granita is known as Italian ice, whilst sorbets have a different texture. Sorbets are smooth, as the mixture in churned, whereas a granita’s texture is more like ice flakes. In granitas, the fruit purees are scraped repeatedly during the freezing process.

This lemon granita recipe by Ciccio Sultano is made with sweet Sicilian lemons.

The perfect remedy for a hot day. As we are still in winter, this is wishful thinking, but when the time comes you won't want to miss this cooling breakfast. Not to mention that it is gluten-free, vegan and a light treat!

Equipment : Food processor or blender

Prep time: 20 mins

Freezing time: 2 hours

Ingredients

10 lemons

1l water

150g of sugar

Method

Zest 4 of the lemons and set the zest aside. Juice the lemons until you have 150ml juice (you may not need all of them)

Add the water and sugar to a large pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar

Add the lemon juice and zest, remove from the heat and cover. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes

Strain the mixture into 2 containers that will fit in your freezer and leave to cool to room temperature

Freeze until the mixture is partially frozen, which should take several hours

Remove the granita from the freezer and leave at room temperature until you can break it into chunks with a large spoon

Transfer to a blender or food processor and blitz until the consistency of soft snow. Store in the freezer until ready to serve

Looking to challenge yourself one step further? Check out this video to learn how to make this refreshing treat in different flavours