Granita al limone (lemon ice)
A translucent lemon ice, no cream or egg, just water, sugar, and lemon juice, scraped with a fork into light crystals. You eat it with a small spoon or drink it melted.
A translucent lemon ice, no cream or egg, just water, sugar, and lemon juice, scraped with a fork into light crystals. You eat it with a small spoon or drink it melted.
Summer in New York, man, it was a furnace — the asphalt stuck to your shoes. So when the vendor came by with his cart of lemon ices, it was a party. You'd get one, real sour, real sweet, and you'd feel the cold go all the way down to your toes. In Sicily, my family called it granita — no fuss, just lemon, water, and sugar. The simplest taste in the world, and the most refreshing.
- •Sicilian lemons — several (acidity and aroma)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Cold water — twice the juice (base)
- •Hand-crushed ice — as needed (icy texture)
Granita al limone (lemon ice)
A translucent lemon ice, no cream or egg, just water, sugar, and lemon juice, scraped with a fork into light crystals. You eat it with a small spoon or drink it melted.
Why this dish? In Italian neighborhoods of New York, lemon 'Italian ices' were the refreshment of scorching childhood summers — a direct legacy of the Sicilian granita from Corleone, land of Pacino's ancestors.
Summer in New York, man, it was a furnace — the asphalt stuck to your shoes. So when the vendor came by with his cart of lemon ices, it was a party. You'd get one, real sour, real sweet, and you'd feel the cold go all the way down to your toes. In Sicily, my family called it granita — no fuss, just lemon, water, and sugar. The simplest taste in the world, and the most refreshing.
Ingredients (period version)
- Sicilian lemons — several (acidity and aroma)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Cold water — twice the juice (base)
- Hand-crushed ice — as needed (icy texture)
Ingredients
- Fresh lemon juice — 200 ml (4-5 lemons) (acidity and aroma)
- Sugar — 150 g (sweetness)
- Water — 500 ml (base)
- Lemon zest — 1 (aroma)
Method
- Heat water with sugar and zest until dissolved, then let cool.
- Add strained lemon juice to the cooled syrup.
- Pour into a wide dish and place in the freezer.
- Every 30 minutes, scrape the forming crystals with a fork for 2 to 3 hours.
- Serve as light crystals in a chilled glass, with a small spoon.
How it was made : Sicilian granita descends from Arab-Sicilian sorbets made with snow from Mount Etna stored in icehouses. Upon emigrating, Sicilians recreated these lemon ices on the sidewalks of Little Italy, where they became the famous 'Italian ices'.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a frosted glass with a spiral lemon zest and a mint leaf, trattoria-chic dessert style.
Al Pacino · Charactorium