FOODIE FRIDAY: GRANITA DI ANGURIA - WATERMELON GRANITA

I sort of created this yesterday and it was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. It was also rather good, though I say so myself:

500 gr [prepared weight] watermelon, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
250 gr caster sugar
250 ml water
juice of 1 lemon
mint leaves, ice and slices of watermelon to decorate

Put the sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Add the prepared watermelon chunks to this mixture, stir, bring to the boil again and let it all simmer for 30 mins. Let it cool, then add the lemon juice. Chuck it all into a bowl and liquidise with a hand blender. Now bung it all into a plastic container and freeze. Some granita recipes will tell you to fork the mixture through every 20 minutes or so while it is freezing but that is quite bothersome. Anyway, I believe in freezing things overnight so that is what I did. So, about 20 mins before you want to serve the granita, remove it from the freezer and fork it through as soon as it starts to soften. Now, my mixture began to soften very quickly in the heat of a Sicilian afternoon but if you decide to make this on a freezing winter's day in Britain [and I've been mad enough to make similar dishes in those conditions] it will take longer! Put it back in the freezer and get your garnish ingredients ready. OK, now fork the mixture through again, pile it into serving glasses, decorate and serve. This amount should give you 4 servings.

Relax and enjoy!