There are many ways to beat the heat in the summer, and one way is with a chilled granita. Granita in Sicily is serious business. I enjoyed this lemon one pictured, exactly a year ago on a hot day in Scicli. Granita is best when flavored naturally with the juices of a fruit (or another natural ingredient) and then mixed with the right amount of sugar and the right amount of ice. The mixing is the secret to success.

My cousin Pietro used to make phenomenal granita from the lemons in his garden. He had worked much of his life at Caffe’ Aurora, my great uncle’s bar in Bagheria, and learned there how to create just the right mix, with the right touch. I’m thinking of him and his lemon granita right now. 

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