Location & Language
Location
Your location determines which local communities, pages, places and events you see.
Display language
The language used for menus, buttons and interface text.
Location
Your location determines which local communities, pages, places and events you see.
Display language
The language used for menus, buttons and interface text.
In Sicily, breakfast is not coffee and toast but granita and brioche - a combination so deeply embedded in island culture that it is practically a declaration of identity. Lemon granita, the most classic variety, is made from nothing more than freshly squeezed Sicilian lemon juice, sugar syrup, and water, frozen slowly and scraped into icy, crystalline shards with a fork every 30 minutes to develop its characteristic coarse, fluffy texture. The result is intensely lemony, bracingly cold, and refreshingly sweet, served in a glass or wide bowl alongside a soft, pillowy brioche bun - the col tuppo style, with its distinctive little topknot - which is used to scoop up the granita bite by bite. It is an extraordinary breakfast that tastes like Sicilian summer distilled into a glass.
Prep
15 min
Cook
5 min
Total
20 min
Servings
4 srv
Difficulty
Medium
Calories
320 kcal
For 4 serving(s)
Per serving
Make a simple syrup: combine the sugar with 100ml of water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Squeeze the lemons to yield 200ml of fresh juice. Strain through a fine sieve to remove seeds and pulp. Stir in the lemon zest.
Combine the cooled syrup, lemon juice, and remaining 300ml of cold water in a shallow freezer-safe container. Stir well and taste - it should be noticeably sweet and intensely lemony.
Place in the freezer. After 30 minutes, use a fork to scrape and stir the frozen edges toward the centre. Repeat every 30 minutes for 2-2.5 hours, scraping and stirring each time, until the granita is completely frozen but light and grainy in texture, not a solid block.
If the granita freezes solid, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, then scrape vigorously with a fork before serving.
Warm the brioche buns briefly in a 150°C oven for 5 minutes. Spoon the granita into glasses or wide bowls, garnish with a sprig of fresh mint, and serve immediately alongside the warm brioche.
Sign in to rate this recipe.