Meyer Lemon Granita - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 meyer lemon, zest of, grated
3 cups mineral water
2 sprigs of fresh mint
1/2 cup agave syrup or 2/3 cup superfine sugar
1 cup fresh meyer lemon juice (about 5 regular meyer lemons)

Preparation

Place the zest, water, mint springs, and agave or sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat.
Stir for about one minute.
Remove from the heat, and allow the syrup to cool slightly in the refrigerator.
When chilled, strain out the lemon zest and the mint sprigs.
Stir the lemon juice into the chilled syrup. Taste to make sure the mixture is not too tart; if it is, add a little more sugar.
Pour the mixture into a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish (metal, ceramic, or glass), so the mixture is about an inch deep.
Place in the freezer.
Every 30 minutes stir with a fork, scraping the crystals down from the side of the dish.
When the granita is slightly slushy, but definitely frozen hard, with small firm granules of ice, it's done. It will take 2-3 hours to get to this stage.
The granita may be transferred to an airtight container and stored for a couple hours before serving.
Remove the granita from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving, so it softens slightly.
Serve in dessert bowls or glasses.