Cantaloupe Melon Granita

Granita is one of the simplest summer desserts you can make, and cantaloupe melon makes a particularly special version. Inspired by a granita discovered at an artisanal gelato maker in South Eastern Sicily, this one allows the natural sweetness of ripe melon to shine through. Plus, you can still taste the chunks of fruit, slightly sweetened to bring out the best of the ripe melon flavour. Serve it straight up, or for a truly Sicilian experience with a brioche and topped with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Instructions

1. Combine the water and sugar together in a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, and remove from the heat to cool.

2. Peel and deeded the melon, and cut it into rough chunks. Blitz in a food processor until just smooth; you want a few very tiny bites of melon still to remain. Add the sugar syrup and the lemon juice, and give it a quick final blitz to combine.

3. Pour the granita into a large freezer-save tub. You want a large surface area to both speed up the freezing process, and to make it easier to form ice crystals. Freeze for 6 hours, 8 if the granita mixture is more than 3 cm deep in the tub.

4. Scrape the mixture into crystals using a fork; the bits around the outside will be quite solid and form quite harsh crystals, the bit in the middle will be a bit more slushie-like. The combination when stirred together gives a lovely textured granita!

5. Serve immediately. Any leftovers can be frozen, and blitzed back into a granita with a food processor before serving