Mint Granita Recipes

MINT JULEP GRANITA

Steps:

• Put 6 or 7 glasses in the refrigerator to chill.
• Cook 3 cups water, the mint and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the mint with the back of a spoon to extract all the juices. Let cool completely, or chill over an ice bath.
• Stir in the bourbon, and pour into a 3-quart (9-by-13-inch) glass or metal baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight.
• Scrape the surface of the ice with a fork in long, light strokes to create a snowy texture. Break up any remaining lumps. Freeze the granita again for at least 2 hours before serving. Fifteen minutes before you are ready to serve, put 6 to 7 glasses in the refrigerator to chill. Serve the granita in the glasses, garnished with fresh mint leaves.

CANTALOUPE AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and 1 cup mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.
• In a blender, puree the cooled syrup, cantaloupe, and lime juice until smooth. Taste, and adjust the sweetness by blending in 1 extra tablespoon of sugar at a time. Add the remaining mint leaves and blend until finely chopped. Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-by-2-inch glass baking dish and freeze until firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Use the tines of a fork to scrape the granita into chilled bowls and serve.

GREEN APPLE-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes; transfer to a blender and let cool completely.
• Add the mint to the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish. Finely grate the skin of the apple into the pan (you won't need the rest of the apple), then stir in the lime juice.
• Freeze until ice crystals begin forming around the edges, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan, then continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes, until frozen, about 4 hours.
• Avoid aluminum pans-they can react with the acidic ingredients and produce a metallic taste. Use stainless steel or glass instead.

HONEYDEW AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring the sugar and 3/4 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the mint, pressing with a wooden spoon to submerge. Let cool completely, then remove the mint with a slotted spoon and discard.
• Combine the mint syrup, honeydew and lime juice in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a 7-by-11-inch or 8-inch square metal baking dish.
• Freeze the honeydew-mint mixture until ice crystals begin to form around the edges, about 45 minutes. Scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan with a fork, breaking apart any large chunks. Continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes or so, until all of the granita has been scraped into flakes, 3 to 4 hours. Spoon into chilled bowls and top with mint leaves.

APPLE MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Infuse simple syrup with tea, mint leaves, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, lemon juice, until aroma peaks, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, add cider. Freeze overnight in a plastic wrap lined loaf pan. To serve, scrape or process in food processor and serve in hollowed shell of appropriate fruit or into elegant martini glasses.

MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring water, mint, and sugar to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing hard on solids and discarding them, then cool.
• Freeze mixture in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart shallow nonreactive metal container, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 30 minutes, until evenly frozen, 2 to 3 hours. Scrape with a fork to lighten texture, crushing any lumps. Spoon into glasses or bowls.

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).

APPLE MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Mix apple juice and mint leaves and allow to combine overnight in refrigerator. Strain mint leaves out of apple juice.
• Place a shallow metal pan in freezer. In a nonreactive saucepan, combine applesauce, mint flavored apple juice, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered about 20 minutes.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Pour apple mixture into chilled pan; return to freezer. Stir every 20 minutes until it thickens into coarse crystals, about 1 hour.
• Stir granita and mound into small cups. Serve immediately.