Best Granita Recipes

ITALIAN LEMON ICE (GRANITA)

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups of the water with the sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Add the salt, stir, and remove the pan from the heat.
• Stir in the remaining water and let cool to room temperature.
• Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place a shallow metal 2 1/2 qt container (such as a large cake pan) in the freezer to chill.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, and extract to the chilled sugar mixture; stir until well blended.
• Pour into the chilled metal pan.
• Place the pan in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, or until ice crystals form around the edges.
• Stir the ice crystals into the center of the pan and return to the freezer.
• Repeat every 30 minutes, or until all the liquid is crystallized but not frozen solid, about 3 hours.
• To serve, scoop the granita into chilled dessert bowls or goblets.
• (If the granita has become too hard, scrape it with a large metal spoon to break up the ice crystals.) Serve at once.
• Advance Preparation: The granita can be stored, covered, for up to four days in the freezer, but it will have become frozen solid.
• To serve, either allow the granita to thaw in the refridgerator until you can scrape the crystals, or break it up into chunks and process with on/off motions in a food processor fitted with the knife blade until fairly smooth.

COFFEE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar melts. Pour mixture into 9 by 13-inch metal pan and place on level shelf in freezer for half an hour. (Mixture should only come about 1/4-inch up the side of the pan.) Remove and use a dinner fork to scrape any ice crystals that have formed on the side or bottom of the pan. Return to freezer and repeat scraping every 20 to 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours. Once mixture is thoroughly frozen, fluff with a fork and allow flakes to "dry" in freezer another half hour before serving. When served, the granita should look like a fluffy pile of dry brown crystals.
• Scoop into goblets and top with barely sweetened whipped cream, add additional citrus zest if desired.

GRANITA DI CAFFE CON PANNA (ITALIAN COFFEE GRANITA)

Steps:

• Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan; simmer until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), about 5 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat; add coffee and vanilla extract. Pour into a metal bowl and mix well. Cool granita mixture to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Freeze for 1 hour.
• Stir the granita vigorously to break up ice crystals. Repeat freezing and breaking up process 4 to 5 more times, 2 to 2 1/2 hours total.
• Drop spoonfuls of whipped cream into 4 short glasses. Divide granita mixture evenly among the glasses. Top with remaining whipped cream.

COFFEE GRANITA

Steps:

• In a bowl, stir together the coffee, sugar, vanilla and salt until the sugar dissolves. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and use a fork to scrape any of the ice that has formed.
• Return to the freezer for another 2 hours, then repeat the scraping. If the granita is still not frozen, return to the freezer again and repeat the scraping. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top or drowned with 1/2 ounce of limoncello.

COFFEE GRANITA (CAFFé GRECO)

Steps:

• Stir together coffee and sugar in a bowl until sugar is dissolved, then stir in vanilla. Pour into an 8-inch metal baking pan (1-quart capacity) and freeze, stirring every 30 minutes, until slushy, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir vigorously with a fork until slightly smoother and more uniform in texture, 30 seconds. Freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 30 minutes more.
• Divide granita among serving dishes and top with whipped cream.

COFFEE GRANITA

Steps:

• Pour the coffee into a jug and stir in the sugar until it has dissolved. Add the coffee liqueur and leave to cool completely.
• Once cold, pour the mixture into a freezable container and put in the freezer for 1 hr. Mix it with a fork - you should start to see ice crystals forming at the edges. Return to the freezer for 20 mins then stir again. Repeat once or twice more until the granita is all clumps of ice.
• Serve in glasses or bowls as an elegant dessert. For a more indulgent version, add a dollop of mascarpone and a grating of dark chocolate.

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.

MELON SOUP AND RED WINE GRANITA

Steps:

• Peel melon, and finely chop the skin. Slice the melon in half, removing seeds and filament. Place skin, seeds, and filament into a saucepan. Add 2 cups water and fructose or sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, skimming the foam off the surface, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Cut the melon flesh into thin slices, and place in a large bowl; set aside. Pour seed mixture through a sieve lined with cheesecloth placed over the melon slices, and set aside to cool. When cool, add lime juice and mint. Spoon red-wine granita over the top, and serve immediately.

ZESTY LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and thyme. Transfer to an 8-in. square dish; cool to room temperature., Remove thyme sprigs. Freeze for 1 hour; stir with a fork. Freeze 2-3 hours longer or until completely frozen, stirring every 30 minutes., Stir granita with a fork just before serving; spoon into dessert dishes. Garnish with lemon zest.

WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Pour into a shallow, wide pan and freeze for 1 hour. Rake mixture with fork and freeze for another hour. Rake and freeze for one more hour. Rake and serve in cups.

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.

RASPBERRY SORBET OR GRANITA

Steps:

• Place raspberries in work bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth. If an extra smooth sorbet is desired, press pureed raspberries through a fine sieve to remove seeds. Whisk together pureed raspberries and honey in a large bowl.
• Combine 3 cups of water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes; do not stir. Stir the sugar water and the remaining 1 cup of water into the raspberry puree.
• Make an ice bath by filling a very large bowl with water and ice. Set the bowl of raspberry puree in the ice bath, and whisk until cool. Pour cooled puree into a 9x13 baking dish, and cover; freeze until solid, 6 to 8 hours.
• To make a coarsely textured granita, use a fork to scrape frozen puree into small crumbs. For a deliciously silky sorbet, transfer frozen puree to a food processor and process until smooth.

CITRUS-GINGER GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir water, sugar, ginger, lemon zest, and lime zest together in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbling, 5 to 10 minutes; cool slightly.
• Stir the ginger mixture an orange juice together in a pitcher; pour into a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Place dish in the freezer; scrape and stir orange juice mixture with a fork once every hour until granita is evenly frozen and crystallized, about 6 hours.

FRESH STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined.
• Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch nonstick metal baking pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours. Using fork, scrape granita into flaky crystals. Cover tightly and freeze. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.) Scrape granita into bowls. Garnish with berries and serve.

MOROCCAN COFFEE GRANITA WITH ORANGE WATER CREAM PARFAIT

Steps:

• For the Moroccan coffee granita: Put the coffee beans, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, cardamom and clove in a coffee grinder and process until ground.
• Place the ground spiced coffee into a coffee maker, add 4 cups cold water and brew according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer the brewed coffee to a small saucepan, add the granulated sugar and cook over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the sambuca.
• Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch metal or glass baking dish. Freeze until ice crystals begin to form around the edges, 3 to 4 hours, depending on how cold your freezer is. Using a fork, stir the mixture well and return to the freezer. Continue freezing, stirring and scraping every 30 minutes, until the mixture is thoroughly frozen and the crystals are fluffy, another 3 to 4 hours.
• For the orange water cream: Combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, orange flower water, orange zest and vanilla extract in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix until soft peaks form.
• Layer the granita and orange water cream in tall glasses. Garnish with candied orange peel and mint sprigs

GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine juice, water and sugar in bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Pour liquid into a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Freeze until hard, about 3 to 4 hours.
• To serve, scrape with a fork and spoon the scrapings into small chilled martini glasses or small glass bowls. Garnish with small sprigs of fresh mint.

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• With a vegetable peeler remove zest in long pieces from 2 lemons. Squeeze 1/2 cup juice from lemons.
• In a small heavy saucepan heat water and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in zest and transfer syrup to a bowl to cool. Chill syrup, covered, until cold. Discard zest and stir in lemon juice.
• For eastern-Sicilian granita:
• Freeze lemon mixture in an ice-cream maker until spoonable but not crumbly and serve immediately.
• For western-Sicilian granita:
• Freeze lemon mixture in a metal bowl, stirring every 30 minutes to remove ice crystals from side of bowl, until liquid has become granular but is still slightly slushy, about 3 to 4 hours. Serve granita immediately.

MARGARITA GRANITA WITH SPICY SHRIMP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, tequila, Triple Sec and 3 teaspoons lime zest., Transfer to an 11x7-in. dish; cool to room temperature. Freeze 1 hour; stir with a fork. Freeze 4-5 hours longer or until completely frozen, stirring every 30 minutes., In a small bowl, combine cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and chipotle pepper; add shrimp, tossing to coat. Thread shrimp onto eight soaked wooden appetizer skewers., Lightly oil grill rack. Grill shrimp, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat 3-4 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink., Stir granita with a fork just before serving; spoon into small glasses. Top with remaining lime zest; serve with shrimp.

COFFEE GRANITA WITH WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Mix together the espresso, sugar, coffee liqueur and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the liquid into an 8-inch square glass baking dish and freeze. Every 30 minutes, remove the dish from the freezer and use a fork to scrape and break up the ice crystals. Repeat until the mixture is thoroughly frozen, about 4 hours.
• Spoon the granita into small glasses, dollop with the whipped cream and garnish with a mint leaf. Serve immediately.

GAZPACHO GRANITA WITH CHOPPED GAZPACHO SALAD, AVOCADO AND FLAME GRILLED SHRIMP IN JALAPENO CILANTRO OIL

Steps:

• Granita: Add all the granita ingredients to a blender or food processor and puree. Strain the puree through a sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer the chilled puree into a wide, shallow, heavy-bottomed container. (The shallower and wider the container, the more room you give the granita to freeze quickly.) Cover with foil or plastic wrap and freeze until it begins to appear solid around the edges, about 1 hour. Using a fork, scrape the ice from sides, mixing in from the edges into the center. Repeat this scraping and mixing process every 30 minutes, until the entire mixture has the consistency of shaved ice. Put back in freezer until ready to use.
• Chopped salad: Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Shrimp: Combine the cilantro, lime zest and juice, jalapeno and olive oil in a blender or food processor. Set aside.
• If using a gas grill, preheat the grill to high, direct heat. If using coals, allow the coals to burn down to glowing white embers. The grill is hot enough when you can hold your hand about 1-inch over it for only 1 second. Lightly grease the grill with olive oil to prevent sticking. Lightly salt the shrimp and thread each skewer with 3 shrimp. Grill shrimp approximately 2 minutes per side, basting with cilantro oil twice. Remove the shrimp from the grill and add the remaining cilantro oil to a small pan. Heat the oil until bubbling.
• Add the avocado to a small bowl and drizzle with lime juice.
• To serve, spoon some of the chopped salad on each serving plate and top with some granita. Add a few teaspoons of avocado, a skewer of shrimp and a drizzle of the hot cilantro oil. Serve immediately.