Tropical Granita Recipes

TROPICAL FRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir juice and sugar in large bowl until sugar dissolves. Add rum, lime juice and vanilla. Pour mixture into shallow baking dish. Freeze until mixture is entirely crystallized, stirring frequently and scraping crystals from around edges, about 5 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen.)
• Using tines of fork, scrape frozen juice mixture to form small flakes. Spoon granita into goblets and serve.

TROPICAL GRANITA

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Freeze overnight (or at least 6 to 8 hours). With a fork, scrape frozen mixture until it reaches shaved ice consistency.
• Scoop into bowls and serve garnished with a sprig of mint.

WINE, HONEYDEW, AND TARRAGON GRANITA

Steps:

• 1. Combine the wine and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, then cool.
• 2. Puree the honeydew and tarragon in a blender, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a mixing bowl. Combine the wine, honeydew juice, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, then transfer to a square baking dish. Put in the freezer until firm, scraping and stirring with a fork every 30 minutes until the mixture is slushy, about 2 hours. Serve garnished with tarragon leaves or sprigs.

CLEMENTINE GRANITA

Steps:

• Slice the top 1/2 inch off each clementine; reserve. Cut around flesh and scoop out into a sieve set over a bowl; reserve skins and be careful not to tear them. Press flesh to extract juice. Squeeze in juice from tops. (You'll have about 1 cup.) Juice more clementines to yield 2 cups.
• Moisten clementine skins with some juice or water. Roll skins in 1/4 cup sugar to coat. Freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
• Bring remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and ginger to a boil in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Let stand for 30 minutes; discard ginger. Stir in 2 cups juice and the lemon juice; transfer to a nonreactive 8-inch square baking dish. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours.
• Scrape granita with a fork to fluff. Spoon granita into clementine "cups." Freeze for 10 minutes before serving.

TROPICAL FRUIT CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and cool syrup.
• In a blender or food processor purée pineapple with 1/4 cup plus
• 2 tablespoons syrup (reserving remaining syrup for another use). Stir in nectar or juice and Champagne. Pineapple mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Transfer pineapple mixture to a shallow metal baking pan and freeze, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every hour, until mixture is firm but not frozen hard, about 3 to 4 hours. Granita may be made 2 days ahead and frozen, covered. Just before serving, scrape granita with a fork to lighten texture.
• Scoop granita into serving bowls.