Grapefruit Granita Recipes

SPARKLING GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar with 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch rectangular (non-metal) baking dish. Stir in the grapefruit juice, Champagne, and fleur de sel.
• Carefully place the dish on a level surface in the freezer. Freeze for one hour, rake the granita with a large dinner fork, and return it to the freezer. Continue to rake the granita every 30 minutes, until it's firm and granular. This might take as long as 3 hours. Serve frozen in pretty bowls or stemmed glasses.

GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the grapefruit juice, vodka and Simple Syrup in a bowl, then pour into a freezer-safe glass baking dish and pop in the freezer. Scrape with a fork every half hour until partially frozen and granular, about 3 hours. Serve in martini glasses and garnish with lemon zest. Eat with a spoon or a straw.
• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Keep covered in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

PINK GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Reduce the heat to low, add the mint leaves and lime zest, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, cover, and allow the syrup to steep and cool, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Strain the syrup into a small bowl using a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the mint and lime. Set aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Juice enough grapefruit to produce 2 cups of juice. You can leave any pulp or strain it out if you prefer.
• Pour the grapefruit juice into a medium bowl, add 3/4 cup of the mint-lime syrup. Stir well, taste, and add more syrup to make it sweeter, if desired. If you'd like a milder flavor, stir in 1/4 cup of water, taste again, and add more if needed. This is your opportunity to perfect the granita's flavor, but make the liquid a little bold because it mellows a bit in the freezer.
• Transfer the mixture to an 8- or 9-inch square metal baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 1 hour.
• Use a fork to scrape the frozen parts of the granita and mix it with portions that are still liquid. Repeat this process every hour until the granita is completely frozen. This may take 4 to 5 hours, or longer. The granita should have a flaky snow-like ice texture.
• When ready to serve, fork the granita one last time to make it fluffy, then spoon it into frozen dessert cups, small bowls, or stemware. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and serve immediately.

PINK GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small, nonreactive saucepan, warm 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the grapefruit juice with the sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Stir the syrup back into the grapefruit juice, then freeze according to the instructions for freezing granita on page 145.
• Serve Pink Grapefruit Granita in tall Champagne flutes with a rather dry Champagne or sparkling wine poured over the top, along with a few fresh raspberries or wild strawberries.

AUTHENTIC SICILIAN GRANITA AL LIMONE

Steps:

• Pour water and sugar into a saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring until sugar melts; do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat when the sugar has completely dissolved and the water is no longer cloudy. Add lemon juice and stir until combined. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Pour into a freezer-safe dish that has a tight lid. Cover and put into the freezer until it begins to freeze around the edges, but is still slushy in the center, about 45 minutes.
• Lightly stir the crystals from the edge of the granita mixture into the center using a fork and mix thoroughly. Replace the lid. Close the freezer and chill until granita is nearly frozen, 30 to 40 more minutes.
• Mix lightly with a fork as before, scraping the crystals loose. Repeat freezing and stirring with the fork 3 to 4 times until crystals are separate and the granita is light, dry, and fluffy.
• Serve each portion with 1/2 of a lemon wheel and fresh lemon zest on top.

MINT-GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring sugar, mint, and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium-high, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes. In a blender, combine fruit juices and mint syrup and puree on high to combine, 30 seconds. Pour mixture into a nonreactive shallow 2-quart baking dish and freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or up to 3 days).
• With a fork, break granita into large chunks. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to form small crystals. Serve immediately, with mint leaves (or cover and freeze, up to 2 hours).