Can summer get much better than this?
The good thing about the height of summer is watermelons with red, red hearts and lots of sweet juice. Green Prophet has some good ways to serve it, and here are some.
Here in the Middle East they’re for sale everywhere right now. Even the little neighborhood grocery stores have a discarded shopping cart crammed with watermelons in front. In some old-fashioned places, a man driving a horse-drawn wagon goes around the streets, calling out “Watermelons! Red and Sweet!” and all the housewives rush out to buy.
Eating watermelon seems to cool you down immediately. One reason may be because it’s full of Vitamin C, which helps the body to withstand heat. The fruit has lots of other healthy properties too. Now, thanks to the dessert-ful Couldn’t Be Pareve blog, we found a delicious new way to enjoy it.
Granita. Doesn’t that sound good? Watermelon granita, accented with basil. The satisfying crunch of icy crystals, watermelon sweetness, and a note of mystery from the basil. And so easy to make. Try it. You’ll like.
Watermelon Basil Granita
Ingredients:
4 cups seedless watermelon chunks
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 small basil leaves
Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
Puree until smooth.
Pour into a shallow, wide pan and freeze for 1 hour.
Rake mixture with fork and freeze for another hour.
Rake and freeze for one more hour.
Rake and serve in cups.
Enjoy!
Cool down with Green Prophet’s summer recipes and save on air conditioning:
- 2 Cool Summer Recipes with Rose Geranium
- 2 Fresh Fig Recipes with Arak and Cream
- Malabi, Middle Eastern Milk Pudding
Author: Miriam Kresh
Miriam Kresh is an American ex-pat living in Israel. Her love of Middle Eastern food evolved from close friendships with enthusiastic Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish home cooks. She owns too many cookbooks and is always planning the next meal. Miriam can be reached at miriam (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
