Granita of Fruit - Rattata di Frutta 

This is one thousand year recipe, it comes from the Arabs. During their domination, they brought the recipe of the Sherbet, iced drink flavoured with fruit juice or rose water. In Sicily, we used the snow that during the winter was collected from Mount Etna and stowed in “nivieri”, special stone buildings erected over natural or artificial caves. In the summer the ice would be scratched and covered with fruit syrups or flowers. This recipe was still widespread until the early twentieth century with the name of “rattata”. (Scraped) 

The modern Granita is very similar to the Rattata and we still consume a lot of it during the summer both with fruit or with lemon. A curiosity is that in the east cost of Sicily the Granita with almond milk is eaten with a “brioscia” (bread bun). In the rest of Sicily we eat the gelato with bread bun.
Cooking tips: In this recipe I used yellow nectarine, but you can use any fruit in season. If in season the fruit tastes better and has more vitamins and less chemicals. In the town of Marsala, we add the Zibibbo to recipe, it makes the Rattata more tasty and prevents it to freeze completely. Remember that the
Zibibbo grapes, and the Zibibbo drink was brought in Sicily by the Arabs.