Pink Grapefruit Granita Food

GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine juice, water and sugar in bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Pour liquid into a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Freeze until hard, about 3 to 4 hours.
• To serve, scrape with a fork and spoon the scrapings into small chilled martini glasses or small glass bowls. Garnish with small sprigs of fresh mint.

SPARKLING GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar with 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch rectangular (non-metal) baking dish. Stir in the grapefruit juice, Champagne, and fleur de sel.
• Carefully place the dish on a level surface in the freezer. Freeze for one hour, rake the granita with a large dinner fork, and return it to the freezer. Continue to rake the granita every 30 minutes, until it's firm and granular. This might take as long as 3 hours. Serve frozen in pretty bowls or stemmed glasses.

RUBY GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• Halve the grapefruits crosswise, and squeeze juice into a large wide bowl, allowing any pulp to fall in. Use a teaspoon to pluck out any seed or pith in the bowl.
• Whisk in sugar until completely dissolved. Pour mixture into a low baking dish to a depth of 1/2-inch. (A 9-by-13-inch baking dish will work.) Place the dish in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight, until frozen solid. The frozen mixture will look like packed snow.
• Use a fork to smash the frozen mixture into rough chunks and transfer to 6 serving glasses. Place glasses in the freezer until serving time. If desired, add 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water per glass.

MINT-GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring sugar, mint, and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium-high, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes. In a blender, combine fruit juices and mint syrup and puree on high to combine, 30 seconds. Pour mixture into a nonreactive shallow 2-quart baking dish and freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or up to 3 days).
• With a fork, break granita into large chunks. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to form small crystals. Serve immediately, with mint leaves (or cover and freeze, up to 2 hours).

GRAPEFRUIT AND CAMPARI GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Let syrup cool.
• Stir in grapefruit juice and Campari and freeze in a shallow metal pan, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 30-40 minutes, 3 to 4 hours, or until mixture is firm but not frozen.
• Scrape granita with a fork to lighten texture.
• Serve in chilled, stemmed glasses and garnish with a curl of zest.

PINK GRAPEFRUIT, STRAWBERRY, AND CHAMPAGNE GRANITA WITH SUGARED STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Stir 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in large saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Cool. Puree 1 cup strawberries in processor. Whisk 1/2 cup puree into sugar syrup. Mix in grapefruit juice, then Champagne. Pour mixture into 8-inch square metal baking pan. Freeze mixture until firm, stirring every 2 hours, about 6 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep frozen.)
• Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon peel in pie plate. Spread 1/2 teaspoon mascarpone around pointed tip half of each whole strawberry. Dip in lemon sugar to coat mascarpone.
• Moisten rims of 6 Martini glasses with water; dip rims into remaining lemon sugar. Scrape fork across surface of granita to form ice shavings. Mound granita in glasses. Garnish with sugared berries and serve immediately.
• *Available at Italian markets and some supermarkets.

GRAPEFRUIT AND CAMPARI GRANITA

Steps:

• In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let syrup cool. Stir in grapefruit juice and Campari and freeze in a shallow metal pan, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 30 minutes, 3 to 4 hours, or until mixture is firm but not frozen. Scrape granita with a fork to lighten texture. Serve granita in chilled goblets and garnish with zest.