Iced ripe watermelon – a dessert from Sicily

• Chef: Maurizio Santin
• Difficulty: Average
• Time: 40 min of preparation, 5 min of cooking
• Type of Cooking: Boiling
• Doses for: 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 kg of ripe watermelon pulp
• 200 g of sugar
• 80 g of starch for cakes
• 50 g diced zuccata (candied pumpkin)
• 50 g of dark chocolate cut into small pieces
• 30 g of shelled pistachios
• 1 piece of cinnamon
• Cinnamon powder

Tip

In Palermo, where this dessert is traditionally prepared on the day of August, the dish is used to decorate with lemon leaves and jasmine flowers and jasmine is also sometimes used to flavor the mixture.

Preparation

1. Peel the pistachios after blanching them for a few minutes in boiling water.
2. Remove the watermelon pulp from the seeds and pass it through the vegetable mill mounted with the finest disc, letting it fall into a small saucepan.
3. Put a ladle of the juice obtained in a cup and perfectly dissolve the starch taking care not to form lumps then pour it in the saucepan together with the sugar and the cinnamon stick.
4. Blend perfectly and put the saucepan on the fire and, without ever stirring, raise the boil.
5. Continue cooking over low heat for four or five minutes, continuing to stir.
6. Withdraw the casserole and, as soon as the mixture is almost cold and begins to thicken, add the chocolate, the zuccata, and pistachios, then pour it into a pudding mold (or in small portion molds) soaked in water.
7. Seal the mold with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours or even overnight.
8. When serving the frost, turn it out onto a plate and sprinkle with powdered cinnamon.
9. In Palermo, where this dessert traditionally prepares the Ferragosto, it is customary to decorate the dish with lemon leaves and jasmine flowers and jasmine is also sometimes used to flavor the mixture.