Lemon slush with ice cream maker

There are few things more refreshing when the heat hits than a granita, and if it's homemade and lemon-flavored, I won't even tell you. To start and not stop!

Sorbets and granitas differ from ice creams, generally, in that they do not contain dairy (nor egg in the case of custard ice creams), so they are much less creamy and tend to produce a more icy sensation. But for that very reason they are perfect for hot weather.

I've been making ice creams, sorbets and granitas at home for a long time, and in my humble opinion the gadget that gives the best results is an ice cream maker that has a freezable bowl, as is the case of the KitchenAid ice cream attachment. It's very easy to use, you only have to remember to freeze the bowl the night before, and it churns ice creams, sorbets and granitas to perfection if you follow the instructions. Before owning the KitchenAid I had a standalone ice cream maker with motor and freezable bowl, but the KitchenAid attachment works wonderfully, the change has been for the better without a doubt. I'm delighted.

This lemon granita or sorbet recipe is very classic: lemon juice mixed with a simple syrup and churned in the ice cream maker until it gains body. The addition of a little liqueur helps to soften it because it lowers the freezing point (which reduces the size of the ice crystals that form), but you can omit it if you don't want to add alcohol — the granita turns out fine either way.

To serve it in a glass, as a granita, we can serve it freshly out of the freezing bowl, as a very soft sorbet to our liking. And if we want to turn it into sorbet we only need to finish the freezing and put it in the freezer for a while to give it more firmness.

Ingredients

• 260 g of sugar
• 250 g of water
• 400 ml of lemon juice
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon of limoncello (optional)

Preparation

1. Put the saucepan the sugar and water; bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. When the syrup is cold, grate the lemon peel and add it to the syrup. Squeeze the indicated amount of juice and add it as well.
3. Mix well and leave in the refrigerator overnight. Remember to also leave the ice cream bowl freezing.
4. The next day, strain the granita/sorbet mixture if you don't want to find bits of lemon zest (although if you have grated it finely with a good grater it isn't bothersome). Add the limoncello, if using.
5. Prepare the ice cream maker by placing the previously frozen bowl on its pedestal, insert the paddle inside and snap on the churning attachment that connects the paddle to the KitchenAid motor. Lower the head, fit the attachment onto the paddle and start the machine. Pour the lemon mixture little by little and let it freeze; it will take at least 10 minutes for a granita; a bit longer if you want to obtain sorbet.
6. When it reaches the desired consistency, stop the machine. Remove the paddles and detach the granita from them with a spatula.
7. Serve immediately in small glasses the lemon granita, with pretty straws.
8. If you want to make sorbet, pour the soft sorbet into an airtight container and place it in the freezer to firm up more or consume it as is, as a soft sorbet.
9. If you over-freeze it or leave the sorbet several days in the freezer (up to 3 days, do not leave it longer because it begins to crystallize), first pass it very carefully through the microwave on defrost, checking frequently the consistency until you can form scoops with an ice cream scoop.

If you want to flavor the sorbet with some herb, you can put a sprig in the mixture before churning, during the previous rest in the refrigerator. A subtle touch of an aromatic herb suits lemon granita perfectly. Go for it.