Sicilian Lemon Granita with Whipped Cream

La storia di questo piatto

Sicily's lemons, grown in sun-soaked groves where the air is thick with blossom and salt, give this granita its whole soul: pure citrus light turned to frost. The cloud of fresh cream on top is a quiet counterpoint, soft as the shade beneath the lemon trees.

Ingredienti

• 5 pieces Untreated Sicilian lemons
• 400 ml Filtered water
• 150 g Granulated sugar
• 250 ml Fresh whole cream
• 15 g Icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 4 pieces Brioche col tuppo (optional, for serving)

Preparazione

1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a few strips of yellow zest from 2 lemons, avoiding the bitter white pith, and set them aside. Then cut all the lemons in half and juice them: you should get about 220 ml of juice. Pass it through a fine sieve into a jug to remove pulp and seeds. Divide the juice: set 30 ml aside in a small container in the fridge for the final finish; the remaining 190 ml or so goes into the cold syrup. Total active time for the recipe is about 30 minutes; the rest is cooling and freezing.
2. Pour the water into a small saucepan with the zest strips and bring to medium heat. When small bubbles rise from the bottom, add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until completely dissolved and the liquid is clear: this will take 3-4 minutes, without boiling vigorously. Turn off the heat, let the zest infuse for 10 minutes, then strain the syrup into a bowl, discarding the strips. Let it cool completely, about 30-40 minutes.
3. Once the syrup is cold, stir in the roughly 190 ml of lemon juice (everything except the 30 ml set aside), then pour into a shallow, wide dish. Place it in the freezer and every 30 minutes scrape the bottom and edges with a fork, breaking up the crystals and mixing them into the liquid in the center. Repeat for about 3 and a half hours, until you obtain a fine, silky granita with small rather than coarse crystals.
4. During the final 20 minutes of freezing, while the granita rests between scrapings, place the glasses or cups in the freezer and prepare the cream. Pour the very cold cream into a chilled bowl and whip with electric beaters at medium speed, adding the icing sugar and vanilla extract halfway through. Stop when the cream forms soft peaks that hold their shape, without becoming stiff and grainy. Keep refrigerated until serving.
5. Scrape the granita one last time to make it fluffy and spoon it into the chilled glasses. If it has hardened too much in the meantime, let it stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and scrape again before serving. Top with a generous spoonful of whipped cream and finish with a few drops of the 30 ml of reserved lemon juice (about 1 teaspoon per serving; some will be left over), which brighten the flavor without melting the crystals. Serve immediately. In Sicily, lemon granita is usually enjoyed plain, with brioche col tuppo for dipping: whipped cream is not part of the tradition, but it is a indulgent variation that melts slowly among the ice crystals.