Snowcapped Pink Strawberry Mountains Strawberry Granita Recipes

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.

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.

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 & 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.

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-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.

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.

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.

STRAWBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the strawberries in a bowl with the sugar and stir to coat the berries. Line another bowl with a double layer of cheesecloth and add the berries.
• Gather opposite corners of the cheesecloth and tie tightly. Repeat with the other two corners, leaving the knot open to slip in a wooden spoon handle. Propping the spoon across the top of a large bowl, suspend the berries. Refrigerate overnight.
• Squeeze as much juice as possible from the berries. Correct for sugar and stir in the salt. Reserve the pulp for jam.
• Pour the strawberry juice into a nonstick baking dish. Freeze for several hours. Use a spatula to cut and scrape the frozen juice into an ice the consistency of snow. Refreeze before serving. Place a few scoops of granita in a bowl and drizzle a few drops of the vinegar over it. Serve.

SNOWCAPPED PINK STRAWBERRY MOUNTAINS(STRAWBERRY GRANITA)

Steps:

• Gently wash and hull strawberries, then put in a food processor. Process until crushed. Working in batches, press puree through a fine sieve to extract seeds, and discard seeds.
• Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice into strawberry juice. It should seem a little too sweet and a little too sharp; both tastes will be muted slightly when frozen.
• Pour puree into a bowl or shallow baking dish; the mix should be no deeper than about 1". 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!
• Serve quickly, before it has time to melt. Enjoy!