Blueberry Basil Granita Food

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.

STRAWBERRY BASIL GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the sugar completely dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool, the mixture should be the consistency of maple syrup.
• Combine the strawberries and basil in a food processor and puree. Add the sugar mixture and pulse the machine to combine. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for about 2 hours.
• When the edges begin to harden, use the tines of a fork to scrape them into bits. Repeat the procedure in 1 to 2 hours, and then occasionally thereafter, until the mixture is frozen through in "shavings." Freeze overnight.
• Spoon the granita into serving dishes and garnish each with a basil leaf, then serve.

BLUEBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Blend the blueberries and sugar in a food processor until smooth; strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing with a wooden spoon to separate the blueberry puree from any chunks of skin or seeds.
• Stir the strained blueberry puree, water, and lemon juice together in a shallow glass baking dish or tray. Place the dish in the freezer; scrape and stir the blueberry mixture with a fork once an hour until evenly frozen and icy, about 4 hours. Scrape to fluff and lighten the ice crystals; spoon into chilled glasses to serve.

3-INGREDIENT BLUEBERRY CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring sugar, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Transfer blueberry syrup to a medium bowl set inside an ice bath and let cool.
• Purée syrup and remaining blueberries in a food processor until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a 13x9" (or other 3-qt.) freezer-safe baking dish, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible; discard solids.
• Pour sparkling wine into baking dish and stir to combine. Freeze mixture until just beginning to crystallize, about 2 hours. Scrape with a fork, then continue to freeze, scraping every hour, until texture is similar to shaved ice, 3-4 hours more. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen until ready to serve.
• Do Ahead
• Granita can be made 5 days ahead; keep frozen.

BLUEBERRY BASIL GRANITA

Steps:

• Blend blueberries, water, basil, lime juice, honey and salt in a food processor or blender until smooth. Place in an airtight container and freeze until slushy, at least 2 1/2 hours. Divide among 4 glasses and serve with a sprig of fresh basil.

BASIL AND LIME GRANITA

Steps:

• In a pan, dissolve the sugar in the water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the basil leaves. Mix and leave to cool.
• When it is cold, remove the basil leaves and discard them. Add the lime juice, including any fleshy bits, and mix.
• Pour into a large freezer proof container, and put into the freezer.
• Every 15 minutes, for 2 hours, take out of the freezer and mix it up. Then every half an hour until the granita appears grainy and the crystals have been broken down. It should resemble snow or coarse sand.
• Enjoy!

TOMATO & BASIL GRANITA

Steps:

• Chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl with all the other ingredients except the basil leaves. If you have time, leave them to macerate at room temperature overnight. Blitz in a blender - in batches, then strain through a fine sieve. Shred the basil leaves and stir through.
• Clear a shelf in the freezer and place a sided metal tray in to chill. Make up your mix and leave to cool, then pour into the tray and cover with cling film. Freeze the liquid until frozen around the edges and slushy in the middle. Use a fork to break up the ice into smaller crystals. Return the tray to the freezer. Repeat the breaking up process every half hour (at least three times) until it's completely frozen and the texture of snow. For a quicker method: freeze the mixture in an ice tray, then blitz the cubes in a food processor just before serving. The texture will be slightly slushier, but just as delicious.