Strawberry Rose Granita Food

STRAWBERRY ROSé WINE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sliced strawberries with the honey, raspberry liqueur, lime/lemon juice. Cover and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add the water and wine and purée in a high speed blender or food processor (or alternatively pass the mixture through a food mill fitted with a fine disk and then mix in the water and wine).
• Press the purée through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds if using a blender or processor if desired for a smoother consistency (if you have a high speed blender this step isn't necessary).
• Pour mixture into a freezer safe 13- x 9-inch baking dish, cover and place in the freezer. Once ice crystals start to form scrape the mixture with the tines of a fork every 30 minutes as the mixture freezes, until granita is fully frozen but scoopable consistency (about 3 hours).
• Remove from freezer and stir with a fork to break it up and scoop into individual serving dishes or glasses.

FRESH STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Blend 3 cups strawberries in processor until smooth. Add sugar syrup and blend until combined.
• Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch nonstick metal baking pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours. Using fork, scrape granita into flaky crystals. Cover tightly and freeze. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep frozen.) Scrape granita into bowls. Garnish with berries and serve.

FRESH STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Rinse strawberries with cold water; let drain. Transfer berries to a blender and add sugar, water, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and salt.
• Pulse several times to get the mixture moving, then blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into a large baking dish. Puree should only be about 3/8 inch deep in the dish.
• Place dish uncovered in the freezer until mixture barely begins to freeze around the edges, about 45 minutes. Mixture will still be slushy in the center.
• Lightly stir the crystals from the edge of the granita mixture into the center, using a fork, and mix thoroughly. Close freezer and chill until granita is nearly frozen, 30 to 40 more minutes. Mix lightly with a fork as before, scraping the crystals loose. Repeat freezing and stirring with the fork 3 to 4 times until the granita is light, crystals are separate, and granita looks dry and fluffy.
• Portion granita into small serving bowls to serve.

CRYSTAL LIGHT STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.
• Serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY GRANITA WITH WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Puree strawberries, sugar, and salt in processor until smooth. Add water and lemon juice and process to blend. Strain into 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Cover with foil and place in freezer. Stir with fork every hour until frozen, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen. Using fork, scrape granita down length of pan, forming icy flakes. Return to freezer. Beat 1 cup chilled whipping cream until firm peaks form. Divide cream among dishes. Spoon granita over and serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY GELEE WITH ROSE GRANITA

Steps:

• Thinly slice 6 small berries; set aside 6 more for garnish. Coarsely chop the rest and puree in a food processor with sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Add 1 3/4 cups cold water; pulse to combine. Pass mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard seeds. Let mixture stand 10 minutes. Skim and discard any surface foam. (You should have about 4 cups purée.)
• Sprinkle gelatin over 3 tablespoons cold water. Let stand 5 minutes. Heat 1/2 cup purée in a small saucepan over medium-high until warm to the touch. Add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved; then stir into 2 1/2 cups purée. Divide mixture among 6 heatproof glasses or shallow bowls. Add sliced strawberries, pushing them down into mixture. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or, covered, up to 2 days.
• In an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, mix together remaining 1 cup purée and rosé. Freeze 2 hours. Scrape with a fork. Freeze 1 hour and scrape again. Keep frozen; when ready to serve, scrape again.
• Slice strawberries reserved for garnish; divide among glasses. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons granita on top. Serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY AND MASCARPONE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the water, 1/2 sugar, and mint in a small pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Let simmer over low heat to steep the mint. Then strain the mint from the simple syrup. Discard the mint.
• In a food processor combine 2 cups of strawberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Run the machine to puree the strawberries. Add the mascarpone cheese, lemon juice, and salt. Run the machine until the mascarpone cheese is fully incorporated. Add the mint simple syrup and run the machine to combine. Place the strawberry mixture in an 8 by 8-inch glass dish and place the dish in the freezer. The mixture will take about 4 hours to freeze.
• To serve, use a fork to scrape the granita. Spoon the mixture into chilled bowls. Top with the finely chopped strawberries. Serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY GRANITA DESSERT WITH ROSE WATER

Steps:

• Gently wash and hull strawberries, then place in a food processor.
• Process until pureed. It may be necessary to add a small amount of water to help blend the strawberries.
• Working in batches, press purée through a fine sieve to extract seeds (discard seeds). Note: I admit: I'm lazy and skip this step. I leave it for you to decide whether to remove the seeds or not.
• Whisk powdered sugar, lemon juice and rose water into pureed strawberries. It should seem a little too sweet and a little too sharp; both tastes will be muted slightly when frozen.
• Pour the strawberry purée into a bowl or large tub; for best results, the mixture should be no deeper than about 1 inch.
• Freeze until solid, at least 1 hour.
• Remove from freezer 5 minutes before serving.
• Using a sturdy scoop or spoon, mound granita into *goblets and cap each with a trickle of cream. The cream will solidify, semifrozen, like a snowcap on a pink mountain.
• *I used fancy dessert glasses which were placed in the freezer and chilled to get that "frosted" effect.
• Garnish with lemon verbena or mint leaves.
• Very important: serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• To make the sugar syrup, combine 3/4 cup water and 4 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
• Place half the strawberries in a blender with the sugar syrup, lemon juice, and vodka, if using. Puree. Transfer to a fine mesh sieve and press on puree, pushing the pulp through. Discard seeds remaining in sieve.
• Pour mixture into a shallow 8-inch square pan. Freeze 2 to 3 hours, or until almost completely frozen. Scrape granita with a fork to make it flaky. Freeze for another hour and scrape again. When ready to serve, scrape again.
• About 30 minutes before serving, quarter remaining strawberries lengthwise and transfer to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon sugar, pepper, and vinegar; mash slightly with a fork, keeping mixture chunky. Add basil.
• To serve, scrape some granita into 4 glasses and top with smashed strawberries.

STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Put the strawberries and water in a bowl and then blitz with a hand blender until most of the berries are puréed or use a food processor for a smoother texture.
• Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir a few times to combine.
• Pour into a sealable container, cover and put in the freezer for two hours.
• After two hours, take it out and run a large spoon around the outside, mixing the frozen bits into the unfrozen centre.
• Return to the freezer for another hour, give it another mix, and then freeze again for one last hour.
• Now you should have a whole box of strawberry"snow crystals".
• You can serve it now, or just leave in the freezer for another day.
• If you continue to freeze it, remember to leave enough time to let it sit in the fridge for 30-40 minutes before you want to serve the granita, so you don't have a solid mass.

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.