How to Make Granita

by Nicole Perry 0

Things I've learned so far this Summer: sipping on a glass of crisp and fruity Riesling makes hot days without air-conditioning worlds more bearable. Fish sauce is an excellent and surprisingly subtle addition to everything from sweet-leaning salads to simple weeknight pastas. It's my go-to "secret" ingredient of choice these days. Oh, and you can make a granita out of (nearly) anything liquid. Riesling spritzer granita, anyone?

Keep reading for a recipe for my granita obsession du jour.

A word on the granita: if you're liquid, sweet, and not too boozy (anything too alcoholic won't freeze properly), I'm coming for you — it's granita season. And with that, here's how to make granita out of (almost) anything:

1. Taste your liquid. Is it intensely flavored? If not, consider adding a bit of extra acid, sugar, or salt to perk things up, as cold foods are less intensely flavored.
2. Fill a shallow nonreactive dish up about halfway (you want room for the liquid to expand without making a mess), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer.
3. After an hour, remove from the freezer and scrape up the frozen bits with the tines of a fork. Place the dish back in the freezer and repeat roughly every half hour until completely frozen, about three to four hours.
4. Fluff up with a fork before serving, and voilà, you've got granita!

While this tea-spiked treat is a current favorite, I'm looking forward to experimenting. I'd love to hear what you like to freeze and fluff up, granita style.

From Nicole Perry, YumSugar

Arnold Palmer Granita

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups unsweetened iced black tea
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons simple syrup
3/4 cup water
Lemon wheels, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Carefully whisk together the iced tea, lemon juice, simple syrup, and water in an eight-by-eight-inch glass or ceramic dish, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer.
2. After an hour, remove from freezer and scrape up the frozen bits with the tines of a fork. Place back in freezer and repeat roughly every half hour until completely frozen, about three to four hours.
3. Fluff up with a fork before serving and garnish with a lemon wheel, if desired.

Serves four to six.

Notes:

• Cold tends to slightly dampen flavors, so we adapted the granita from a traditional Arnold Palmer recipe, compensating for this by bumping up the sugar and lemon juice.

Information

Category

Desserts, Frozen