Author: story of a kitchen (minimally adapted from bon appetit magazine, sept 2012)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup water
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1½ tablespoons lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
almost 10 cups watermelon = about 1½ cups balled with melonballer and 8 cups cubed*
pinch salt
1 cup seltzer water (I felt this wasn't enough to make the drink fizzy enough, so I added more to each glass before serving. Be safe and have at least a liter on hand.)
Instructions
In a small saucepan, mix ⅓ cup sugar and ⅓ cup water, bring to boil briefly to dissolve sugar, and remove from heat. Cool completely and chill in fridge. (This can be made up to a week in advance.)
Soften ice cream slightly and mix in lime zest and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Store in freezer until ready to use.
Chill melonballed watermelon pieces.
In blender or food processor, blend cubed watermelon until smooth.
Pour puree through fine sieve, then add simple syrup, remaining lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Chill until ready to use.
Mix seltzer (see notes in ingredient list) and watermelon mixture.
Line up 6 to 8 glasses, divide melon balls between them, and pour over watermelon-seltzer mix (and you may want to add a little more seltzer), leaving some room at the top.
Top each glass with ice cream-lime mix. Serve with a long spoon and straw. Another scratch of lime zest gives a nice touch.
Prep time is mostly chilling time. If you already have cold ingredients, it takes less than an hour to prep.
Notes
* Seedless watermelon is a little easier to handle, but you need to strain the puree to catch any seeds. Like I mentioned in my watermelon granita recipe post last year, straining is key. The white, vestigial seeds give a chewy bite -- not something I want with watermelon.
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/drink-recipes/watermelon-soda-floats/