Mint Granita Recipes

MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring water, mint, and sugar to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing hard on solids and discarding them, then cool.
• Freeze mixture in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart shallow nonreactive metal container, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 30 minutes, until evenly frozen, 2 to 3 hours. Scrape with a fork to lighten texture, crushing any lumps. Spoon into glasses or bowls.

CANTALOUPE AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and 1 cup mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.
• In a blender, puree the cooled syrup, cantaloupe, and lime juice until smooth. Taste, and adjust the sweetness by blending in 1 extra tablespoon of sugar at a time. Add the remaining mint leaves and blend until finely chopped. Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-by-2-inch glass baking dish and freeze until firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Use the tines of a fork to scrape the granita into chilled bowls and serve.

BERRY-MINT GRANITAS

Steps:

• Remove lemon zest in 1- to 2-inch sections using a vegetable peeler, avoiding the bitter white pith. Squeeze and reserve 2 teaspoons of juice.
• Stir lemon zest, water, sugar, and mint together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let cool, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, for 45 minutes. Remove and discard lemon zest and mint.
• Process blueberries and raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl with chilled syrup; discard seeds. Stir in reserved lemon juice.
• Pour berry mixture into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover and freeze until edges are slushy, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir with a metal spoon, scraping frozen mixture off bottom and sides of pan. Cover and freeze, stirring every 30 minutes, until mixture is slushy, about 3 hours more. Cover and freeze until firm, 4 to 24 hours more.
• Let stand and soften slightly at room temperature, 5 to 10 minutes. Scrape surface of granita with a fork and spoon into chilled dessert dishes.

MINT JULEP GRANITA

Steps:

• Put 6 or 7 glasses in the refrigerator to chill.
• Cook 3 cups water, the mint and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the mint with the back of a spoon to extract all the juices. Let cool completely, or chill over an ice bath.
• Stir in the bourbon, and pour into a 3-quart (9-by-13-inch) glass or metal baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight.
• Scrape the surface of the ice with a fork in long, light strokes to create a snowy texture. Break up any remaining lumps. Freeze the granita again for at least 2 hours before serving. Fifteen minutes before you are ready to serve, put 6 to 7 glasses in the refrigerator to chill. Serve the granita in the glasses, garnished with fresh mint leaves.

APPLE MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Infuse simple syrup with tea, mint leaves, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, lemon juice, until aroma peaks, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, add cider. Freeze overnight in a plastic wrap lined loaf pan. To serve, scrape or process in food processor and serve in hollowed shell of appropriate fruit or into elegant martini glasses.

MOROCCAN MINT TEA GRANITA

Steps:

• In a large pot bring all ingredients to a boil, except food coloring. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Strain and add coloring. Freeze with a metal whisk in mixture. During freezing, whisk periodically to add iciness and a grainy texture to the granita

GREEN APPLE-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes; transfer to a blender and let cool completely.
• Add the mint to the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish. Finely grate the skin of the apple into the pan (you won't need the rest of the apple), then stir in the lime juice.
• 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.
• Avoid aluminum pans-they can react with the acidic ingredients and produce a metallic taste. Use stainless steel or glass instead.

WATERMELON, LIME AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Working in 2 batches, puree watermelon in a food processor. Strain puree through a sieve and strain out solids, forcing liquid out with a wooden spoon. Discard solids. Combine the watermelon puree, lime juice, mint and sugar in a 9 by 13-inch metal pan. Place mixture in the freezer, scraping thoroughly with a fork every 20 to 30 minutes for about 2 1/2 hours, or until the granita resembles coarse crystals. Scrape 1 last time and spoon into parfait glasses or bowls. Top with a mint sprig.

HONEYDEW AND MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring the sugar and 3/4 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the mint, pressing with a wooden spoon to submerge. Let cool completely, then remove the mint with a slotted spoon and discard.
• Combine the mint syrup, honeydew and lime juice in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a 7-by-11-inch or 8-inch square metal baking dish.
• Freeze the honeydew-mint mixture until ice crystals begin to form around the edges, about 45 minutes. Scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan with a fork, breaking apart any large chunks. Continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes or so, until all of the granita has been scraped into flakes, 3 to 4 hours. Spoon into chilled bowls and top with mint leaves.

MINTY LIME GRANITAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in the remaining ingredients., Transfer to an 8-in. square dish; cool to room temperature. Freeze for 1 hour or until edges begin to firm; stir. Freeze 2 hours longer or until firm., Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process until mixture resembles finely shaved ice. Spoon into dessert dishes.

HIBISCUS-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Method:
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Remove from the heat and steep the hibiscus flowers in the water for 5 to 7 minutes. Discard the hibiscus flowers. Add the sugar to the hot water and stir until melted. You may need to return it to the heat for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the lime juice and chopped mint leaves.
• Pour the liquid into a shallow bowl and place in the freezer. Freeze for 3 to 4 hours while mashing the large chunks of ice every 30 minutes or so.
• Assembly:
• Spoon the granita into chilled glasses and garnish with the whole mint leaves.

APPLE MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Mix apple juice and mint leaves and allow to combine overnight in refrigerator. Strain mint leaves out of apple juice.
• Place a shallow metal pan in freezer. In a nonreactive saucepan, combine applesauce, mint flavored apple juice, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered about 20 minutes.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Pour apple mixture into chilled pan; return to freezer. Stir every 20 minutes until it thickens into coarse crystals, about 1 hour.
• Stir granita and mound into small cups. Serve immediately.

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).

STRAWBERRY & MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Put the sugar and 100ml water in a medium saucepan over a low heat, and stir now and again until the sugar dissolves. Don't let the syrup boil.
• Meanwhile, tip the strawberries into a food processor and blend to a purée. Pour into the sugar syrup with the mint leaves and turn up the heat. Simmer for about 5 mins until the mixture thickens slightly. Once thickened, strain through a fine sieve to get rid of any seeds and leaves. Allow to cool for 15 mins.
• Pour into a container and freeze for 1 hr, then rake the top layer with a fork and put back in the freezer. Repeat every hour for the next 4 hrs until the mix becomes a crystallised slush. Serve in glasses with a sprig of mint on top.

WATERMELON MOJITO GRANITA

Steps:

• Remove rind from watermelon; dice into large cubes. Add watermelon, water, sugar, and mint leaves to an electric blender. Blend until pureed.
• Pour in rum and give it a couple of stirs to incorporate. Pour mixture into a 9x12-inch pan and place in the freezer for 4 hours. Scrape the mixture with a fork every 1 to 2 hours. It will not freeze completely due to the rum.
• Serve in a shallow bowl or a nice glass.