Fizzy Citrus Fruit Slushie

Mmmm, thinking about and seeing the pictures of this delightfully refreshing fruit slush makes my mouth water. This is the slush my mom made while I was growing up and I loved the stuff. I’ve continued to make it, usually serving it around the holidays (Christmas or New Year’s Eve) but this year got me thinking, why on earth do I reserve the beloved, frozen, citrus concoction for holidays only? I’m hereby changing my ways and am going to make this more often!

A cinch to prepare, bananas (just go with it!), lemon juice and orange juice are mixed together with a simple syrup and frozen. The slush is mixed and whipped a few times during the freezing process to incorporate a bit of air making it even more lovingly slushy and wonderful. The frozen slush is scooped into chilled glasses and topped off with ginger ale. I like to mash up the slush with the ginger ale, creating a slushie consistency but my kids just scoop out chunks of the slush and then guzzle the citrus-infused leftover ginger ale. To each his own, I say.

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Ingredients

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 to 6 very ripe bananas)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 to 3 lemons)

1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade, no water added

3 cups orange juice

Ginger ale or another carbonated beverage, for serving

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and boil for 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and cool completely.

2. Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice, frozen lemonade concentrate and orange juice to the cooled syrup. Mix well.

3. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch pan and cover with plastic wrap or other lid. Freeze until slushy, about 2 to 3 hours (this will depend on your freezer, so check often—you want to mix it before it is frozen solid).

4. Use an electric mixer to beat the slush until foamy and aerated (I do it directly in the pan but you can scoop the slush into a large bowl and whip it, if desired, pouring it back into the pan when finished). Repeat this process 1 to 2 more times during the freezing process, if desired.

5. Freeze the slush until firm.

6. When ready to serve, let the pan of slush sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Scoop slush into chilled (or not) glasses and top with ginger ale or another preferred carbonated beverage.

Serves about 16

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