Super-easy to make, this granita is seriously refreshing. And I love the idea of turning dessert into an after-dinner digestif.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar
- 10½ fl oz (300 ml) boiling water
- handful of basil leaves
- 2 blood oranges, peeled
- 35 fl oz 4 cups (1 litre) (35 fl oz/4 cups) blood orange juice
- 7 fl oz (200 ml) lemon juice
How to Make It
- Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water.
- Using a pestle and mortar, pound the basil leaves to a paste.
- Put the sugar syrup, blood oranges, blood orange juice, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper in a blender and briefly blitz to break up the blood orange, then mix in the basil paste. Taste for seasoning and sweetness and adjust if necessary.
- Transfer to a large stainless-steel tray or bowl and place in the freezer. Leave for half an hour, then scrape with a fork and return to the freezer for another half hour. Scrape again, then freeze for another half hour, by which time it should be properly frozen. Scrape again before serving.