Lemon Verbena Ice Milk With Strawberry Granita Food

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 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.

LEMON VERBENA GRANITA

Steps:

• Place a small metal tray into the freezer to chill. Put the lemon verbena, lemon zest, and sugar into the boiling water and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Add your ice cubes to bring the temperature down and then sieve the liquid into the cold metal tray (keep the lemon zest and verbena for later) and place in the freezer for about 2 hours. Mash with a fork, scratching up the ice, then freeze for a further 2 hours.
• To prepare the apple compote, put 2 tablespoons of sugar into a small pan and heat on a medium heat until it is syrupy and light caramel color. Finely chop the reserved lemon zest and lemon verbena and add to the caramel with the apple and lemon juice. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes.
• To serve, spoon a little compote into 4 small shot glasses, then a spoonful of creme fraiche, and finally top with the granita and a small sprig of lemon verbena.

SKIM MILK GRANITA

Steps:

• Place ingredients in blender (or deep and narrow container for the immersion blender).
• Blend on high in a five second burst and then move the larger cubes closer to the blade.
• Repeat the five second bursts until the cubes are chopped into fine grains.
• Pour in a glass and add a straw and/or spoon.

STRAWBERRY ICE

Steps:

• Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes; cool slightly. Add to blender. Add lemon juice; cover and process until combined., Pour into a shallow freezer container; cover and freeze for 4-6 hours or until almost frozen. Just before serving, whip mixture in a blender or food processor.

ITALIAN GRANITA LEMON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Boil the sugar and water for 5 minutes. Then let the syrup cool down and add the lemon juice and grated lemon zest. Boil everything again. Let it cool down again and put it in the freezer in a metallic container. Turn the mixture while it is freezing every 20 minutes. The Granita will be ready after 3-4 hours.

STRAWBERRY LIME GRANITA

Steps:

• Make a simple syrup the night before, or up to a week ahead of time.
• In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium high heat; add the sugar and stir to dissolve, about 30 seconds.
• Reduce heat to low and cook another 5 minutes until the mixture is slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
• About 3 to 4 hours before you will serve the granita, chill a 13x9 inch metal baking pan in the freezer.
• Combine the strawberries and lime juice in a blender; puree on high speed.
• Reduce speed to low setting and add the simple syrup.
• Blend for a few seconds just to incorporate.
• Take the chilled pan from the freezer and pour in the fruit mixture; return to freezer, uncovered.
• After an hour, the mixture should have just begun to set in the middle.
• Using a fork, break up the crystals and swirl around until you have a wide pile of mush in the center of the pan.
• Freeze for two more hours, breaking up the crystals once or twice.
• To serve: remove pan from freezer and let stand several minutes, if frozen solid.
• Use a fork to break up mixture, then scoop, with a spoon, large mounds into serving dishes or martini glasses.
• Drizzle a heaping teaspoon of condensed milk over each portion and a squeeze of lime, if desired.
• Garnish with mint sprig and wedge of lime.

LEMON VERBENA ICE CREAM FROM A FRENCH COUNTRY HERB GARDEN

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, warm the lemon verbena leaves with all of the milk, 100ml of the cream and the sugar Press the leaves with the back of a wooden spoon to help the flavours release. Once warm, remove from heat, cover, and let steep for one to two hours.
• To make the ice cream custard, pour the remaining cream into a large bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, and put a sieve on top.
• Use a strainer or slotted spoon to skim the lemon verbena from the milk and squeeze the leaves to extract as much liquid as possible back into the saucepan, then discard them. Reheat the lemon verbena infusion then whisk the eggs together and slowing pour in the warm infusion, whisking constantly.
• Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan and cook, stirring continuously with a heatproof spatula, until the custard leaves a clear path on the spatula when you drag your finger across it.
• Immediately strain the custard into the bowl of cool cream and stir well until cool.
• Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve with fresh leaves for garnish and a little lemon syrup drizzled over for a flavour explosion!