Strawberry Mint Limeade Granita

Strawberry Mint Limeade Granita is a cool and refreshing dessert that you need for summer! It’s made with fresh ingredients and no ice-cream machine is needed!  

In the last couple weeks, my friends Iris and Tony were visiting from Hong Kong. We are high school friends. Iris and I were in the same class for two years. We sat close together and become close friends. Iris and Tony are high school sweethearts. They got married after college and now there is little Morris. Morris is a 2-year-old, who is energetic and loves food. No doubt, he is a future foodie!

Hiking @ Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
Left to right: Bryan, Morris, Iris & Tony

Flower Field @ Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
Left to right: Me, Morris & Iris

While they are in town, I wanted to share a sweet dish with them. We have been going to all kind of parks and museums in the past weeks. Something light and refreshing will be perfect after a day of running around. Granita came to my mind. It can’t be more fitting! It is an Italian frozen dessert that is kind of like shaved iced. It is easy to make and doesn’t require a machine. Last year, I made my very first lychee-ginger granita. The flavors were on point and it was very refreshing!

This time, I’m going with the in-season strawberries, mints from my garden and fresh limes. The idea is to recreate the flavors from a strawberry mint limeade and turn it into granita. Blend the strawberries, mint and lime juice together. Combine with a homemade syrup. Pour into a container and freeze. While freezing, go back with a fork to scrap and mix the mixture every half an hour. After a few hours, your granita is ready! It does take some time and muscle, but you will love the end result.

It tasted just like a strawberry mint limeade. There is the fragrant strawberries, cool mints and citrusy lime. It was not too sour and just sweet enough. Absolutely refreshing! This will be excellent for a hot summer day. It is also nice after a hearty meal and you want something to cleanse your palate. After our long walk at the California Science Center, this granita was exactly what we needed. Morris loved the granita so much that he asked for a refill! Hope you will enjoy this too!

1 vote

Print

Strawberry Mint Limeade Granita

Author Lokness

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups drinking water
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pint fresh strawberries (rinsed and hulled)
• 4 – 5 mint leaves
• 5 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 – 3 limes)

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. Cook and stir until sugar dissolved. Remove from heat and cool for about 45 minutes.
2. Place the strawberries, 4 mint leaves and the lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add half of the cooled sugar syrup. Taste and adjust with more mint leaves and sugar syrup. Make sure the mixture is slightly sweeter than you want, because it will be less sweet once it is frozen.
3. Transfer the mixture to a flat-bottomed 9 x 13-inch baking or glass dish. Keep in the freezer and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Stir the mixture thoroughly with a fork and freeze again for 30 minutes. Continue to freeze for another 4 hours, scraping and breaking the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes. Scoop to serving cups and serve immediately.

Notes

Tips:

1. Syrup can be made ahead. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. 
2. Make sure NOT to use a non-stick pan when freezing the granite. You don’t want to scrape up any non-stick coating while mixing the granite.
3. For storage, transfer the finished granite in an air-tight container. Enjoy within a week.

Courses Dessert

Cuisine Italian