Granitas

I made my first attempt at a granita tonight. A granita is a frozen dessert (usually) made from water and a syrup and usually a fruit puree or some other flavoring agent.

I tried a Granny Smith Apple with Ginger granita. I steamed slices of the apples with the skin on then pureed them in a food processor with lime juice, sugar and fresh grated ginger.

I added a little of the water from the steamer to thin it out, then ran the mix through a sieve.

I placed the mix into a glass pie pan and placed it in the freezer. Throughout the night, stirred the puree and put it back in the freezer.

To service, I used the tines of a fork to scrape the granita into frozen crystals. I served it grilled Walu with a Saffron Chantilly Cream.

It worked perfectly. Walu is a fatty fish and serving it with a Chantilly cream would have potentially made the dish to fatty and dense, but the tart apples, the acid from the lime juice, and the bright, palette-cleaning ginger cut through the fat of the fish and balanced the dish perfectly. I was left with a lingering saffron essence and the freshness from the ginger.

Overall, a success.