You won’t regret it.
When the weather gets really hot, one of my favorite snacks is nearly frozen chunks of cantaloupe sprinkled with salt. Icy cold, slightly slushy, and combined with a subtle kick of salt, it makes for a super-easy and hydrating heat wave pick-me-up. When I’m in need of a slightly more elegant treat, however, I’ll take it a step further and turn my cantaloupe into a granita.
Granita is a semifrozen dessert hailing from Sicily. It’s traditionally made from fruit juice and has a similar texture to shave ice or a snow cone. To make a cantaloupe version, blend chunks of melon into an orange-hued juice, pour it into a wide, shallow dish, and freeze. Every 30 minutes or so, “rake” the juice with a fork to help break up any large ice crystals that may be forming—this helps to create a fluffy, snowy texture. While it may be tempting to strain out the cantaloupe pulp before freezing, the pureed melon flesh actually makes for a lush and velvety texture that’s a bit less icy than your average granita.
A ripe cantaloupe is intensely sweet, floral, and needs nothing more than a sprinkle of salt to achieve the status of summer fruit perfection. However, it’s important to remember that temperature significantly alters the way we taste food; when frozen, that intense cantaloupe flavor becomes somewhat muted. Just a sprinkle of sugar and a small squeeze of lime juice adds enough brightness to open the flavor back up. That said, be sure to taste your melon before adding sugar, as the sweetness can vary—a few tablespoons should be more than sufficient. You’ll know you’ve nailed the amount if the mixture tastes barely too sweet before freezing it.
Because this granita has so few ingredients, it’s key to pick a very ripe cantaloupe. Look for one that is heavy for its size and quite fragrant. The exterior of the cantaloupe should be beige with a raised webbed pattern—if the melon is tinged with green or totally smooth on the outside, it’s not ready yet. With the right melon, this granita is absolutely perfect on its own, no adornment necessary. That said, an extra sprinkle of flaky salt and a drizzle of your finest olive oil would both enhance the floral, perfumy notes of the cantaloupe and turn this very simple treat into something extra special.