Raspberry Rose Granita Food

RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Using a large sauce pot, combine the water and sugar. Cook until a syrup forms and all of the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the raspberry puree to the mixture and cool.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow pan and place it in the freezer. As the mixture freezes, occasionally scrape and stir the mixture to form crystals. After a few hours the granita is ready to serve.
• Serve in small glass cups with freshly whipped cream.

RASPBERRY SORBET OR GRANITA

Steps:

• Place raspberries in work bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth. If an extra smooth sorbet is desired, press pureed raspberries through a fine sieve to remove seeds. Whisk together pureed raspberries and honey in a large bowl.
• Combine 3 cups of water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes; do not stir. Stir the sugar water and the remaining 1 cup of water into the raspberry puree.
• Make an ice bath by filling a very large bowl with water and ice. Set the bowl of raspberry puree in the ice bath, and whisk until cool. Pour cooled puree into a 9x13 baking dish, and cover; freeze until solid, 6 to 8 hours.
• To make a coarsely textured granita, use a fork to scrape frozen puree into small crumbs. For a deliciously silky sorbet, transfer frozen puree to a food processor and process until smooth.

RASPBERRY-ROSE PANNA COTTA

Steps:

• Puree the raspberries in a food processor until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, discarding the solids. Add the gelatin to the raspberry puree and stir; set aside to bloom for at least 7 minutes.
• Combine the raspberry-gelatin mixture, heavy cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the sugar has dissolved completely, about 5 minutes. (Do not use a whisk.) Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Stir in the lemon juice.
• Place two 6-cavity silicone rose molds (about 2 3/4 by 1 1/2 inches per cavity) on a baking sheet. Pour the custard into the cavities, filling them to the top. Cover and freeze overnight.
• Sprinkle a few rose petals on each plate. Unmold the frozen panna cottas onto the plates, then let thaw completely before serving.

RASPBERRY ROSE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
• In a blender, purée the raspberries with the sugar solution and remaining ingredients until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
• Chill a 9-by-11-inch baking dish in the freezer. Blend the purée with an immersion blender for 30 seconds and scrape into the chilled baking dish and place back in the freezer. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Using a fork, scrape the ice crystals from the outside of the baking dish toward the center. Return to the freezer and set the timer for another 30 minutes. Continue to scrape the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes until you have a uniform frozen mixture. It should not be frozen solid. If you forget to scrape and the mixture does freeze like an ice cube, cut into chunks and use a food processor fitted with the steel blade to break it up. Transfer to a container and freeze. Allow to soften for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

STRAWBERRY-ROSE GRANITA

Steps:

• Put the hulled strawberries in a bowl and set aside. Cut off and discard the tops of the 12 large strawberries and trim the bottoms so that they sit upright. Use a small melon baller to scoop out the inside of each strawberry to make a small cup, adding the scooped flesh to the bowl with the hulled strawberries. Wrap and store the berry cups in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
• Combine the rose, sugar and bowl of strawberries and scooped flesh in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch square metal pan. Freeze 3 to 4 hours, scraping the mixture with a fork every hour to make it slushy. Wrap and freeze until ready to serve. The granita can be made a day ahead and stored overnight.
• Working in batches, remove the strawberry cups from the refrigerator and fill with a spoonful of the granita, mound some more on top and top with a sprig of mint. Store the assembled granita cups in the freezer while assembling the remaining cups to prevent them from melting.

WATERMELON-RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have completely broken down, about 6 minutes.
• Press the raspberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a blender; let cool completely. Add the watermelon and lime juice and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish.
• 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.

RASPBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Chill syrup until cold.
• Meanwhile, mash 3 cups raspberries in medium bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Mix in sugar syrup. Pour mixture through strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Pour mixture into shallow baking dish. Freeze until almost firm, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.
• Continue freezing granita until firm (do not stir), at least 3 hours or overnight. (Granita can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen.)
• Using fork, scrape surface of granita to form crystals. Scoop crystals into glasses. Garnish with raspberries.