Gelo di Melone

I bookmarked this recipe from Yummly for Sicilian Watermelon Pudding so long ago, I'm relieved the link still works.  I meant to make it last year with one of my home-grown watermelons, but ended up eating the melons instead.  This time, I was determined to save enough of the one I got at Sprouts for a dollar to make it.

Despite the name, there isn't any gelatin in this dish.  It is thickened entirely by cornstarch.  It isn't as firm as Jell-O either.  More like a very thick soup, or runny pudding.  It can support the whipped cream on top, but that's pretty much it.

For something so simple, this generated a lot of dishes to wash.  Blender, sieve, saucepan, cutting board, little dishes, measuring pitcher.  At least I had canned whipped cream, or it would have been the stand mixer as well.

This recipe can be made with any light melon.  Your juice yield may differ with something firmer like  honeydew.  Just cut and purée more until you get close to 3 cups.

4 C chopped, seeded watermelon (about 1/2 of a mini)
2 Tb sugar
2 Tb cornstarch
*1/2 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
*2 tsp lemon juice, strained
whipped cream and nuts for garnish, optional

1.  Taste a small piece of the watermelon.  If it's not very sweet, double the sugar in this recipe.  Run the rest of the watermelon through the blender until smooth.  Strain through a fine-meshed sieve and discard the solids.  You will end up with maybe 3 C juice.

2.  Stir together 2 Tb of the juice and the cornstarch.  Set aside.

3.  Bring remaining juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for about 5 minutes to reduce a little.  For a thicker result, reduce by 1/3.  Whisk in sugar and vanilla seeds.

4.  Stir up the cornstarch slurry and add to the pot.  Whisk until it returns to the boil and thickens, about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the lemon juice.

5.  Strain the hot mixture into something that's easy to pour out of.  I actually did catch some more watermelon solids, and a bit of vanilla pod that had come off with the seeds, but no clumps of cornstarch.  Pour into four serving dishes.  I recommend clear cups or white ramekins.  Maybe half-pint jars.  One serving is a little over half a cup.

6.  Chill until serving time, at least 3 hours.  Can be refrigerated up to 2 days before it starts to get a thick skin on top.  Garnish with whipped cream and crushed pistachios.  I don't like pistachios and went for pine nuts instead.  The idea is a little crunch against the smooth pudding, but it's optional.

Difficulty rating  π