Limoncello Granita Food

LEMON RICOTTA GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir the water and 3/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat just until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the lemon juice. Pour the lemon mixture into an 8-inch square glass dish. Cover and freeze, stirring occasionally, until the liquid just becomes slushy, about 2 hours. Using a fork, scrape the granita every 30 minutes until it is completely made up of ice crystals. (The granita can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen, and scrape every so often so that the crystals stay loose.)
• Whisk the ricotta, remaining sugar, and pinch of salt in a medium bowl to blend. Spoon the granita into dessert bowls. Top with a dollop of the ricotta. Zest the lemon peel over the desserts and serve.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.
• Stir the sugar and 1 cup water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.
• Strain the limoncello through a meshed strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

LIMONCELLO GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine sugar and 1 cup cold water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is syrupy, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and 3/4 cup cold water, then stir in limoncello.
• Pour liquid into a large, shallow pan. Place pan on a flat surface in the freezer and freeze for at least 8 hours. During the first 2 hours, remove the pan every 20 to 40 minutes and stir the contents with a fork, making sure to scrape down the sides of dish and combining the iced and still-liquid portions. When the granita has frozen completely, use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to scrape the top, collecting each serving. Place in a cocktail glass or bowl and serve.

LIMONCELLO GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the lemon simple syrup, mascarpone cheese, limoncello, and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8-inch glass baking dish. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until the mixture is firm.
• Using the tines of a fork, scrape the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses. Serve immediately.

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.

LIMONCELLO, PEAR AND RIESLING GRANITA

Steps:

• Mix water, 1 cup of the wine and the sugar in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil.
• Add pears, lower the heat to simmer and cook the pears gently, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly in cooking liquid.
• Drain the pears, reserving the cooking liquid.
• Puree the pears in a food processor until smooth (you should have 1 cup of pear puree).
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the cooking liquid, the remaining wine and the limoncello to the bowl; mix well.
• Pour into a shallow metal pan that will fit into the freezer and freeze.
• Gently stir the granita every 20 minutes or until frozen to allow the mixture to freeze without separating and give the proper crystalline texture.
• Once the granita is frozen, scrape the mixture with a spoon or ice-cream scoop into a pretty glass and serve immediately.
• Garnish with lemon zest or a sprig of mint.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Pare the zest from all the lemons, taking care not to include any white pith. Put the zest in a large clean jar and pour over the vodka. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and leave for a week, shaking the jar each day.
• Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vodka and peels and leave for a further week, shaking the jar regularly.
• Strain into decorative bottles, adding a few strips of lemon zest to each bottle.