Green Tea And Ginger Granita Food

WATERMELON-GINGER GRANITA

Steps:

• Puree 6 cups cubed seedless watermelon in a blender with 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger until smooth. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and freeze, scraping with a fork every hour, until fluffy, 5 to 7 hours.

GREEN TEA AND GINGER GRANITA

Steps:

• Put the ginger in a saucepan with 3 cups of water and bring almost to a boil, add the tea, cover and turn off the heat. Let sit for 10 minutes, then strain and discard the solids. Stir in the honey and lemon juice and taste. You want a fairly sweet mixture, so add more honey if necessary.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow glass or ceramic pan and freeze. Stir to break up the ice every 30 minutes or so, until the mixture is slushy and crunchy with crystals, about 3 hours total. If the mixture becomes too hard, pulse it once or twice in the food processor to break it up, or put it in the fridge and stir occasionally until it reaches the desired texture. Spoon into small bowls and serve.

ROASTED PINEAPPLE WITH GREEN TEA AND MELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Peel and cut 1 pineapple into 2-inch cubes. Using a vegetable juicer, juice the cubed pineapple, (you can also use a food processor to puree the pineapple and press it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth so that you are left with pure juice). Pour the juice into a saucepan with the cardamom. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, set aside, and let the cardamom infuse.
• Peel the remaining pineapple and cut horizontally into 1-inch round slices. Cut out the center core with a small size round cutter. Place slices of pineapple in the pineapple juice, bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat. Let cool and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
• The following day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove pineapple slices from the juice place on a sheet pan. Roast in the oven until tender, about 30 minutes.
• To plate, place warm pineapple in a bowl and top with a scoop of Green Tea Melon Granita.
• Place the melon in a bowl. Add the ground ginger, green tea powder, and honey. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and strain into a shallow 9 by 13-inch metal pan or dish.
• Stir in the lime juice, let cool, and then freeze overnight.
• The following day, remove the granita from the freezer, scrape with a fork to make the granita, and return to freezer until ready to serve.
• Yield: 6 servings

ICED GINGER GREEN TEA

Steps:

• Put the green tea bags into a heatproof container and pour in 1 quart boiling water. Let steep until it comes to room temperature, about 1 hour. Remove the tea bags and discard.
• While the tea is steeping, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup water, the sugar, and ginger to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar, remove from the heat, and allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Store the tea and ginger simple syrup in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• To serve, fill glasses with ice and pour in the tea. Sweeten, to taste, with the ginger simple syrup. Garnish with a slice of ginger. For the adults, top each with 1/2 cup prosecco, if desired.

GREEN TEA GRANITA

Steps:

• In a saucepan, bring the water and honey to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring until the honey dissolves completely. Let cool.
• Stir in the green tea, and lemon juice, then pour into a very cold 13x9-inch pan and carefully set in the freezer.
• Stir with a fork every 45-60 minutes, breaking up the any ice cyrstals that may have formed, until the mixture is firm.
• Scrape with a fork and serve in glasses, garnished with a slice of lemon.