Granita di Limone (Lemon Ice Cream)

Submitted by Maria Seminara Commodore

Granita di Limone (from Great Italian Desserts by Nick Malgieri)
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
Combine water and sugar in small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to boil,
stirring
occasionally to dissolve sugar. Cool syrup. Strain lemon juice into syrup
thru a very fine strainer, to eliminate puop and tiny seeds. Stir well to
combine.
Pour mixture into nonreactive gratin dish or roasting pan and place in
freezer. When mixture starts to freeze, stir it every 10 minutes,
scraping the granita off the bottom and sides of the pan so that it
freezes evenly. When granita no longer has any unfrozen liquid in it,
stir well and pack in a chilled container. Press plastic wrap against
surface, cover container with a lid and store in freezer. The granita is
best on the day it is made. Serve in chilled stemmed glasses.
Makes 6/8 servings.

Granita di Limone (from Pomp and Sustenance by Mary Taylor Simeti)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups water
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
(you will need about 9 small lemons, which should ideally consist of 5
yellow lemons and 4 verdelli, which are small green summer lemons.)
Make a syrup of sugar (add 1/2 cup more if you want a very sweet granita;
subtract 1/2 cup if you prefer it sour) and 1 cup water, bringing it to
the boiling point and cooking just long enough to be sure the sugar is
completely dissolved. Allow to cool and add remaining water and lemon
juice. Stir well and pour into a shallow aluminum pan (a cake pan is
perfect for this). Place in freezer.
Remove from freezer after half an hour and scrape down sides and bottom
of pan, breaking up the part that has solidified and blending it into
that which is still liquid. Repeat this every half hour, until the
granita becomes a fairly firm, flaky slush. Remove the granita from pan
and serve at once, or return it to the freezer in a sealable glass or
plastic container. If left too long in metal pan it will "burn" (the
water will separate and form ice crystals).

Enjoy!
Maria Seminara Commodore
mseminara@juno.com