Egg-free ice cream without ice cream maker?

La La in L.A.

Mon, May 20 2013, 2:01 pm

Lime granita:

Make sugar syrup by boiling equal amounts water and white granulated sugar until clear and syrupy (just stirring together at room temperature works, too, but not as well). Let cool.

Squeeze three limes (lemons work, too) into a tupperware container. You can strain out the pulp if you like, but my kids don't mind it.

Add sugar syrup and water until you think your solution tastes like sorbet (not too dilute, but not so sweet or sour you pucker up and go "Yeow!"--it's a matter of taste).

Give one last stir and pop it in the freezer.

In one or two hours, stir with a fork until blended.

In another hour, repeat stirring. It should be starting to get really slushy.

In another hour, repeat one last time, breaking up all hard lumps. It should look like sorbet.

My kids and guests love this recipe, it's so cheap, and relatively healthy. You can also do this with blended fruit, like strawberries, mangoes, or peeled, sliced peaches, and you can add half a jigger of tequila or rum for a bit of a kick and to improve the texture. Non-citrus fruits will require a squeeze of lemon, orange or lime juice to maintain their color.

I'm planning to try lemon with basil leaves next. There's a local restaurant that serves basil lemonade that's fantastic, and I'm feeling inspired. I bet you could make limonana, too.