Granita With Lemon Verbena Food

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• Clean and wash the lemons. Cut off the top 1/4 of the lemons and shave a small slice off the bottom so it stands easily.
• Using a grapefruit knife, cut out the flesh of the lemon and place in a strainer set over a bowl. Be careful not to cut through the bottom. Stand the lemons on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer and freeze until solid.
• Press the flesh of the lemons through the strainer to extract all of the juice. You should end up with about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice. Add the water to the lemon juice. Stir in sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is of desired sweetness. Add the thyme and limoncello and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Strain the mixture into a roasting pan or baking dish. The dish should be large enough so the liquid is not more than 1-inch deep. Freeze the mixture for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and scrape with 2 forks to break up ice. Return to the freezer and freeze until solid, about 2 to 3 hours, scraping with forks every hour or so.
• When the granite is frozen, scoop it into the frozen lemon shells 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.

LEMON GRANITA

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine sugar with 1 1/2 cups water; bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove pan from heat, leave to cool, then refrigerate until cold. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Pour lemon syrup into a square metal cake pan and place in freezer. Freeze 2 hours in all, removing pan from freezer every 30 minutes, stirring and scraping with a metal fork until ice crystals break up. After 2 hours, granita will resemble snow. Scrape into 4 dessert goblets and serve with a spoon and a straw if desired.

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.

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.

LEMON VERBENA ICE MILK WITH STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Prepare the ice milk: heat milk and 3/4 cup sugar in a heavy pan until bubbles form around the milk edges, then remove from heat. Crush lemon verbena leaves in your fists. Add to milk; steep 5 minutes. Taste the mixture; add more leaves if desired. Strain and chill.
• Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, slowly add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to whip until peaks are shiny. Whisk the egg whites into the milk mixture and pour into an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Make the granita: in a pan, bring 3/4 cup water and 6 tablespoons sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Purée halved berries in a food processor; strain.
• In a bowl, mix together strawberries, sugar syrup and lemon juice. Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice if needed. Pour into a wide shallow container, and place in the freezer for an hour. Remove the granita and scrape the ice with a fork. Repeat every hour six times, until granita is fluffy and icy.
• To serve, toss quartered strawberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 5 minutes. Scoop lemon verbena ice milk into chilled dessert bowls, and sprinkle the strawberry granita over the top. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices.