Berry Mint Granitas Food

BERRY-MINT GRANITAS

Steps:

• Remove lemon zest in 1- to 2-inch sections using a vegetable peeler, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze and reserve 2 teaspoons of juice.
• Stir lemon zest, water, sugar, and mint together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let cool, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove and discard lemon zest and mint.
• Process blueberries and raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl with chilled syrup; discard seeds. Stir in reserved lemon juice.
• Pour berry mixture into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover and freeze until edges are slushy, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir with a metal spoon, scraping frozen mixture off bottom and sides of pan. Cover and freeze, stirring every 30 minutes, until mixture is slushy, about 3 hours more. Cover and freeze until firm, 4 to 24 hours more.
• Let stand and soften slightly at room temperature, 5 to 10 minutes. Scrape surface of granita with a fork and spoon into chilled dessert dishes.

BLUEBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and 3/4 cup water in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a 9-inch square glass baking dish, pressing hard on the solids with a spatula before discarding. Freeze the mixture, stirring and crushing up clumps of ice with a fork every hour, until it is frozen, but slushy, about 4 hours total. Spoon into glasses and garnish with the mint or basil leaves.

BERRY MOJITO

Steps:

• In a pint or large glass, combine the raspberries, blackberries, lime wedges, mint leaves, strawberries and sugar and muddle with a muddler or wooden spoon. Add the rum and mix with a spoon. Fill the glass with ice, top off with the seltzer and stir. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve with a straw.

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.

HIBISCUS-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Method:
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Remove from the heat and steep the hibiscus flowers in the water for 5 to 7 minutes. Discard the hibiscus flowers. Add the sugar to the hot water and stir until melted. You may need to return it to the heat for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the lime juice and chopped mint leaves.
• Pour the liquid into a shallow bowl and place in the freezer. Freeze for 3 to 4 hours while mashing the large chunks of ice every 30 minutes or so.
• Assembly:
• Spoon the granita into chilled glasses and garnish with the whole mint leaves.