Watermelon, Ginger & Mint Granita

I have to admit that, until I came to Singapore,  I really couldn't be bothered with watermelons. I thought they were watery with a one dimensional taste compared to other varieties such as honeydew. But now, having quaffed many a refreshing watermelon juice from hawker centers across the island I have to say that watermelon has become a favorite. I am not sure whether the watermelons in the UK are just not that fresh or ripe or whether, more likely, that the weather almost never gets hot enough to fully appreciate its cooling properties! 

This recipe came about as an after tennis cooler that doesn't undo all the good exercise karma. I have been learning to play tennis with the help of J and I actually seem to be getting better. I had always thought that my lack of hand-eye coordination meant that I could never really play racket sports, but I was wrong, yay! I loved some sports in school but have bad memories of spending more time running around trying to catch the ball that I had whacked out of the court or missed during tennis coaching, than actually hitting the ball back. This tennis experience has really opened my eyes to the possibility that just because I struggled with somethings as a kid, doesn't mean that I will always be bad at it! Take languages, I have always described myself as linguistically challenged, but what if I just need a different way of learning. I mean I have accidentally picked up a few bits and pieces of Malay (admittedly mainly in relation to food), so why not try to learn a language from scratch? So ciao for now.

Watermelon, Ginger & Mint Granita (Serves 4-6)
Vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free

Ingredients
650g Watermelon, peeled, deseeded and cubed
Handful of fresh mint
2 "or 5cm Chunk of ginger, finely grated
2 tbs Lemon or lime juice plus zest of 1 lemon or lime
1tbs Brown sugar

Method

• In a pan add the citrus juice, zest, sugar and grated ginger and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend for one minute until there are no large chunks of watermelon. Pour into a freezable container and freeze. Every half an hour take the granita out of the freezer and break up the ice with a fork. Repeat until the granita is frozen with no obvious liquid still present in the mix, serve immediately. Alternatively, freeze the mixture until solid, no stirring required. Then, just before you want to serve, take the container out of the freezer and leave to defrost slightly, then use an ice cream scoop to scrape shavings of the granita off the  block and serve immediately.