Granita and brioche with tuppo are not the only Sicilian recipes loved in the summer. Among these, that of melon frost also stands out. If the Sicilians will have no difficulty in understanding what it is about, those who live outside the island could be misled. Gelo di melone is an original Sicilian recipe based on watermelon (and therefore not melon) which looks like a spoon dessert similar to a pudding.
Beautiful to the eye, pleasant to the palate, it is one of the sweets with watermelon that can be made during the summer. A curiosity : gelo di mellone (with two L's, yes) is the other name by which you might hear him mentioned. It derives from the Italianization of the term muluni (coming from the Sicilian dialect used to indicate watermelon).
The origins of the melon frost
The dessert was probably created during the Arab domination in Sicily or, according to another thesis, by the Arbëreshë population who settled in the Palermo hinterland. It is no coincidence that watermelon frost is particularly widespread in the province of Palermo. In the city it is linked to the famous Festino di Santa Rosalia , in which it is considered the traditional dessert.
The Sicilian recipe for melon frost
The Sicilian melon gelo is simple to prepare at home and requires only a few ingredients including watermelon, sugar and starch. If these are essential for its success, equally indispensable are jasmine flowers , chocolate chips and pistachio grain which, in addition to giving a crunchy touch, give a super captivating appearance and an unmistakable aroma.
Ingredients
- 1 liter of watermelon juice
- 150 g of sugar
- 90 g of starch for sweets
- Ground cinnamon
- Pistachio grain
- Jasmine flowers
- Chocolate chips
Preparation
- Pass the watermelon through a sieve to obtain the juice by eliminating the fibres. Strain it to remove the seeds and transfer it to a large pot, gradually mixing it with the starch.
- Add the sugar and jasmine flowers. Turn on the heat and cook until the mixture becomes sticky.
- Take the jasmine flowers, remove from the flame and leave to cool.
- Once warm, add the chocolate chips and distribute the mixture into cups.
- Let the watermelon frost cool to room temperature, then in the fridge, then decorate with a sprinkling of cinnamon, other chocolate chips and chopped pistachios before serving.
Melon frost and its variations
In addition to the watermelon frost , it is possible to taste numerous variations of the dessert. Which, by the way, often forms the filling of delicious tarts. Lemon, orange, mandarin, almonds : Sicilian frost knows how to embrace seasonal raw materials like few other preparations. The dispassionate advice is to try them all.
Lupus Italicus , CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
