Cooking With A Buz - Infused Watermelon-Lime Granita with Fresh Mint

When July heat settles in, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven and stand in the kitchen pretending I am not sweating through my chef coat.

I learned that lesson years ago while making dessert for an outdoor dinner. The kitchen was hot, the grill was hotter and the guests were melting faster than the butter. I needed something cold, simple and refreshing, so I reached for watermelon, lime and the freezer. The result was a light, icy dessert that disappeared before anything else on the table.

Granita sounds fancy, but it is really just flavored ice scraped into delicate crystals. There is no special machine, no complicated technique and no reason to panic if it does not look perfect. A few uneven pieces only make it look more homemade, which is chef language for “I meant to do that.”

For this version, the watermelon granita remains uninfused. A carefully measured cannabis-lime syrup is added to each serving individually. That keeps dosing more accurate and allows guests to enjoy the dessert with or without THC.

It is cool, colorful and far lighter than another batch of brownies, so grab a bag of your favorite herb, twist one up, and let's get Cooking with a Buz!

Recipe Information

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Freezing Time: 4 to 5 hours

Total Time: Approximately 5 hours and 20 minutes

For the Watermelon-Lime Granita

• 6 cups seedless watermelon, cut into chunks

• ⅓ cup fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or simple syrup

• Pinch of salt

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

• Additional mint and lime wedges for garnish

  
  

For the Infused Lime Syrup

• ¼ cup agave nectar or simple syrup

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons water

• Measured cannabis tincture or water-soluble cannabis product

• Pinch of salt

  
  

Before You Begin

Check the label on your cannabis product and decide how many milligrams of THC you want in each serving. For example, if you want each serving to contain 2.5 milligrams of THC, measure 20 milligrams total into the syrup:

20 milligrams ÷ 8 servings = 2.5 milligrams per serving

Use a product with clearly labeled potency. Homemade tinctures and syrups can vary in strength, so do not guess unless you know the concentration.

If your tincture is alcohol-based, use only a small measured amount and follow the product instructions. A water-soluble cannabis product usually mixes more evenly into beverages and syrups than ordinary cannabis oil.

Instructions

Start by placing the watermelon chunks, lime juice, agave and salt into a blender.

Blend everything until completely smooth. Give it a quick taste. Watermelons vary quite a bit, so you may need another small squeeze of lime or a little extra agave. You are looking for something bright and refreshing, not so sweet that it tastes like frozen candy.

Pour the watermelon mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a shallow metal or glass baking dish. Straining is optional, but it removes extra pulp and gives the finished granita a lighter texture.

Stir in the chopped mint.

Place the uncovered dish flat in the freezer. Let it freeze for about one hour.

After the first hour, pull the dish out and use a fork to scrape through the mixture. Break up the frozen edges and drag them toward the center.

Return the pan to the freezer.

Continue scraping the mixture every 45 minutes to an hour. Each time, use the fork to break apart the frozen pieces and create loose ice crystals. After four or five hours, the entire pan should look light, fluffy and slightly snowy.

Do not worry if you miss a scraping session. Let the granita soften on the counter for a few minutes, then attack it with the fork. This dessert is very forgiving. I have dealt with line cooks who were far less cooperative.

While the granita freezes, make the infused lime syrup.

Combine the agave, lime juice, water and salt in a small saucepan. Warm it over low heat for two or three minutes, stirring until everything is blended.

You are not trying to boil or reduce it. You only want the ingredients to come together.

Remove the syrup from the heat and allow it to cool. Stir in your carefully measured cannabis tincture or water-soluble infusion.

Pour the infused syrup into a clearly labeled container and refrigerate it until serving time.

Before serving, stir the syrup well and divide it into eight equal portions. One simple method is to measure the total finished syrup and divide that number by eight.

Spoon the watermelon granita into chilled glasses or small bowls. Drizzle one measured serving of infused lime syrup over each portion.

Finish with fresh mint and a lime wedge.

Also offer the granita without infused syrup for guests who do not want cannabis. The base dessert is good enough to stand on its own—and nobody should ever have to consume THC just to get dessert.

Chef Buz Tips

• Use the ripest watermelon you can find. A good watermelon should feel heavy for its size and have a creamy yellow field spot where it rested on the ground.

  
  

• Keep the dish shallow. A thin layer freezes faster and is much easier to scrape than a deep block of watermelon ice.

  
  

• Do not pour all the infused syrup over the entire pan. Individual servings provide much better dosing control.

  
  

• Clearly label the infused syrup and keep it away from children, pets and anyone who may mistake it for ordinary lime syrup.

  
  

• Start low and allow plenty of time before consuming more. Edibles can take longer to produce effects than inhaled cannabis, and the experience may last several hours.