Lemon and mint granita

Lemon and mint granita

Ingredients

• 4 medium lemons, washed
• 25-30 fresh mint leaves
• 1 litre water
• 45ml (3 tbsp) sugar, or more if you prefer it sweeter

Method

Grate the rind of one lemon and reserve the zest. Squeeze the juice of all the lemons into a bowl and scoop out the pulp with a small knife (discard any pips).

Place the lemon pulp and juice in a food processor with the mint and pulse until you have a chunky puree. Leave to stand for 15 minutes to let the mint release its flavour, then press through a fine-mesh strainer. You should end up with about 1 cup of lemon-mint juice. Place in a bowl and add the water and lemon zest, then stir in the sugar one tablespoon at a time until dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if desired.

Pour into a roasting pan or container big enough so the liquid isn't more than 3cm deep. Freeze for 1 hour, then scrape and mix with 2 forks to break up the ice crystals. Return to the freezer for about 2-3 hours until solid, scraping again with forks every hour.

Once the granita is frozen, rake with a fork to chop up and serve immediately in glasses.

Serves 4