negroni granita.
I think granitas have been haunting me this summer. I really do. I see them everywhere after 28 years of never even hearing about them. And for the record, it’s not just the internet — yes, I know how algorithms work — it’s things like books, billboards, and restaurants. Granitas everywhere.
In fact, an entire granita shop opened up in Cleveland. I mean, what are the odds? Is this the new fro-yo? They’re delicious, so I’m almost sad it took so long to enter my life. As someone who’s largely dairy-free, granitas are a lifesaver.
To tell you what granita is, I need to explain how it’s made. Granita is simple syrup and flavoring (such as almond extract or orange juice) that is agitated while it freezes, so it never quite becomes a solid block of ice. It’s a very similar concept to shaved ice, but granita is served as a scoop of fluffed ice and shaved ice, typically, is served as a block you shave the ice from.
You could also compare it to a sno-cone, except generally sno-cones are more icy and receive flavoring after freezing. Granita is supposed to be very soft.
Granita texture is very specific, and someone from Italy would probably critique my granita for being too icy. It should kind of be like sorbet — totally smooth — except.. kind of.. icy?
You kind of can’t understand it until you have it.
Enjoy.
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 8 hours, 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 ounce grapefruit juice
3 ounces orange juice
2 ounces gin
2 ounces Campari
RECIPE
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a simmer. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then remove from the heat.
Let the simple syrup cool completely.
Once cooled, add the grapefruit juice, orange juice, gin, and Campari to a measuring cup or bowl. Stir to combine.
Pour mixture into a shallow freezable container and cover. Put in the freezer.
Once liquid begins to freeze, scrape the slush, fluffing it towards the middle of the container. Cover and repeat the freezing and scraping until the granita is solid, but soft, up to 8 hours.
Once granita consistency is similar to shaved ice, serve immediately in a glass. If desired, serve over vanilla ice cream.
NOTES
The simple syrup will take 10-20 minutes to cool to about room temperature.
You can taste the liquid mixture and adjust the flavor before freezing.
The freezing and scraping times will vary depending on your freezer and container. In my case, it took almost 2 hours to start solidifying at all.
If you forgo the scraping, the granita will still work, it will just be a little icy. To do this, just leave the granita mixture in the freezer overnight and fluff it before serving. the mixture will still be quite soft, not hard like ice.
If you don't eat it all at once, leftovers can be stored for about 2 weeks. If the granita melts before you put it back in the freezer, it will refreeze into granita. I wouldn't suggest doing this more than once or twice!
You can transfer the granita to a different container, as well. I suggest fluffing it first and storing it in a smaller container like a deli cup.
This serves 2 because it is the approximate strength of 2 cocktails. You can stretch it into 4 small servings, especially if serving over ice cream!
Granita melts extremely fast. Serve immediately after scooping.
sugar, grapefruit, oranges — you don’t need to use fresh fruit, but it’ll taste a little better. do what’s easiest.
Just a container of liquid. You can taste test it now and adjust as needed; too sweet, add a little more grapefruit. too bitter, add more simple syrup or OJ. the flavor will roughly reflect the end result.
use a fork to “fluff” the ice into a soft consistency. It melts quickly, so fluff, then return to the freezer.
the many ways to serve granita. always in a fancy glass!
