This family recipe passed from my great-grandmother Elena to zia Ero and is preserved in a handwritten notebook. The fragrance of jasmine varies from flower to flower, so let your nose guide you: the cold infusion should be clearly floral, never heavy.
8-10
servings35
minutesChilling time: At least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
For the jasmine water
1/2 cup 1/2 cold filtered water
1 tbsp. tbsp. 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1 generous handful food-grade true jasmine blossoms, preferably Jasminum sambac, grown without pesticides
- For the gelo
4 1/2 cup 4 1/2 strained juice from very ripe watermelon
1/2 cup 1/2 granulated sugar, adjusted according to the sweetness of the fruit
2.8 oz. 2.8 wheat starch, or slightly more for a firmer set
1 small 1 strip lemon peel, with no white pitch
1 tsp. 1 fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. 1/8 ground cinnamon
up to 1/2 cup prepared jasmine water, to taste
- To finish
2 oz. 2 Cioccolato di Modica IGP or dark chocolate, shaved
1/3 cup 1/3 Pistacchio Verde di Bronte DOP or unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
Directions
- The night before, inspect the blossoms carefully, remove any debris, and place them in a clean glass jar with the water and sugar.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight. Strain the following day and keep cold until needed.
- Cut the watermelon flesh into chunks and blend until completely smooth.
- Pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. Measure 1 liter, or about 4 1/4 cups, of strained juice.
- Reserve 1 cup of the cold juice. Pour the remainder into a heavy saucepan and add the sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and cinnamon.
- Taste before heating and reduce the sugar if the watermelon is exceptionally sweet.
- Whisk the wheat starch into the reserved cold juice until perfectly smooth, with no visible lumps.
- Bring the juice in the saucepan to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Lower the heat and slowly pour in the starch mixture while whisking continuously.
- When the gelo becomes glossy and thick, continue stirring for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and discard the lemon peel.
- Allow the mixture to stop bubbling, then stir in the jasmine water a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go. Stop when the fragrance emerges just after the watermelon, without dominating it.
- Pour into a wide, shallow ceramic serving dish that holds at least 1 1/2 quarts. Let it cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate until completely cold and set, at least 6 hours.
- Just before serving, scatter the surface with shaved chocolate and chopped pistachios. Serve directly from the dish, cold, in generous spoonfuls.
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