Fresh Watermelon Granita (Watermelon Shaved Ice)

Step 1

Juice the watermelon. To do so, just scoop out the watermelon flesh from the rind, place it in a large bowl, and use an immersion blender or a large blender/food processor. Blend until smooth.

Step 2

I then sieve the juice to eliminate excess pulp and seeds, but this isn't necessary if you use seedless watermelon.

Step 3

Pour the watermelon juice into a large, shallow tray or dish (as large as possible for your freezer).

Step 4

Transfer the dish to your freezer and allow it to freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.Just note that the freezing time will differ based on the size of the dish used, so it's best to check after 4 hours, then every 2 hours after, until it's almost entirely frozen but still "scrapeable."

Step 5

If you want chunkier watermelon granita, there's no need to touch the melon at all during this time. Otherwise, you can remove it from the freezer every 2-3 hours and agitate/scrape with a fork for a smoother texture, or every 1-2 hours for the smoothest option.During this time, the juice shouldn't freeze entirely due to its natural sugars (especially if adding more sugar), which naturally inhibits the freezing process. Agitating it at least 1-2 times during the freezing process will make it easier to "fluff up" at the end, too.

Step 6

After freezing, it's time to scrape the mixture into the watermelon ice. To do so, you can simply use a fork and scrape against the mixture until it fluffs up.

Step 7

To serve, transfer the watermelon granita to your bowl or glass of choice, serve with a lime wedge (just a squeeze or two tastes delicious over the watermelon ice mixture!), and some fresh mint leaves. I also topped mine with a dash of tajin (a combination of chili, lime, and salt).

Step 8

Once "scraped"/fluffed up into watermelon granita texture, you can keep the mixture in a container in the freezer for up to 5 days. Then, just re-fluff it a little bit just before serving, and you're good to go!