Green Apple Granita Food

GREEN APPLE-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes; transfer to a blender and let cool completely.
• Add the mint to the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish. Finely grate the skin of the apple into the pan (you won't need the rest of the apple), then stir in the lime juice.
• Freeze until ice crystals begin forming around the edges, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan, then continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes, until frozen, about 4 hours.
• Avoid aluminum pans-they can react with the acidic ingredients and produce a metallic taste. Use stainless steel or glass instead.

APPLE TARRAGON GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the sugar and tarragon in a food processor or blender and pulse until the tarragon is finely ground and the sugar is green. Transfer the tarragon sugar to a medium bowl; add the apple juice and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.
• Pour the mixture into a 9-inch-square nonreactive metal baking pan and place it in the freezer. Stir the mixture, pulling a fork back and forth through it, every 45 minutes or so for 4 hours, or until frozen. The mixture will become a fluffy, icy concoction.
• To serve the granita, spoon it into chilled dishes.

GREEN APPLE GRANITA

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, combine the water and sugar. Cook and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup looks clear, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool the syrup by pouring it into a bowl and putting it into the refrigerator or over an ice bath.
• Put the lime juice into a large bowl. Add the apples to the lime juice, and toss as you go so they don't turn brown. Put the apples and lime juice, sugar syrup, and apple liqueur in a blender; puree until completely smooth. Pour the apple mixture into a shallow baking pan and freeze for 1 hour. Using a fork or a couple of chopsticks, break up all the ice crystals on the bottom and sides of the pan. This incorporates air so the final product literally melts in your mouth. Freeze for 3 to 4 hours, until the mixture has reached a frozen granular consistency. You can serve it two ways: Either rake the granita with the tines of a fork for a snow-cone-like product or run an ice-cream scooper down the length for a smooth Italian-ice-like result. Spoon it into a wine or martini glass.

APPLE MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Infuse simple syrup with tea, mint leaves, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, lemon juice, until aroma peaks, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, add cider. Freeze overnight in a plastic wrap lined loaf pan. To serve, scrape or process in food processor and serve in hollowed shell of appropriate fruit or into elegant martini glasses.

APPLE CELERY GRANITA

Steps:

• Put crushed vitaminutes C and sugar in a 1-quart container that will fit under spout of juicer.
• Using juicer, juice apples and celery into container. Spoon off foam and stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Pour into an 8- to 9-inch square stainless-steel or glass baking pan and freeze until partially frozen, about 1 hour. Scrape and stir with a fork, crushing any lumps. Continue to freeze, scraping once or twice, until evenly frozen, about 2 hours more.
• Stir together wasabi and enough water to make a pourable sauce.
• Scrape granita to lighten, then serve sprinkled lightly with sea salt and drizzled lightly with oil and wasabi sauce.

CELERY APPLE GRANITA

Steps:

• Crush vitamin C tablet in a bowl with back of a spoon, then line a sieve with dampened flour sack cloth and set over bowl.
• Purée apples with 1/3 cup water in a food processor (do not use a blender) until almost smooth, then pour into cloth. Bunch up cloth around mixture and squeeze as much clear juice as possible through cloth (about 11/2 cups). Discard solids remaining in cloth. Rinse and wring out cloth, then return to sieve.
• Purée tarragon with remaining 1/3 cup water in processor until water is deep green, then add celery and purée until almost smooth. Pour into lined sieve and squeeze out juices (about 1 1/2 cups) into bowl with apple juice. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Freeze mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish, scraping and stirring with a fork every 30 minutes, until frozen, at least 3 hours. (It will be too hard to scrape once fully frozen.)

GRANNY SMITH, GINGER, AND BASIL GRANITA

Steps:

• Slice apples and process enough slices in juicer, skimming and discarding any foam, to measure 3 1/2 cups juice, then transfer juice to a large bowl and stir in vitamin C and lemon juice. Process ginger in juicer, then stir 1 tablespoon ginger juice into apple juice.
• Pulse together sugar and basil in a blender until sugar is bright green and basil is finely ground, then stir into apple juice until sugar is dissolved. Let stand 5 minutes, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8- to 9-inch metal baking pan.
• Freeze, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every hour, until evenly frozen, 3 to 4 hours. Scrape with a fork to lighten texture, crushing any lumps.