fresh berry granita

you will need:

• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (interpret "fresh" as you will)
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup agave nectar or honey (I used agave nectar because I hate honey)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 generous teaspoons orange zest
• 1 16-oz package of fresh strawberries, quartered and green bits removed
• 2 8-oz packages of fresh raspberries

I have a lot of pictures for a very simple recipe. this is because strawberries are gorgeous things, particularly in late spring light. in a bowl, combine the orange juice, water, agave nectar, orange zest, half the strawberries and half the raspberries. blend these with your trusty hand mixer until almost smooth. (if you're using a blender, you can just put the ingredients directly in it.) add the rest of the fruit and continue to blend until the mixture is completely smooth. taste for sweetness. I found that it was plenty sweet and didn't need anything else, but you probably have a higher sweetness threshold than I do. you should add some more agave nectar.


pour the mix into a 9 x 13 METAL baking dish. (we'll return to the caps in a minute.) place the pan in the freezer so that it sits level. after an hour, the edges of the mix should be icy. use a fork and stir the icy edges towards the center of the dish, redistributing the mix. repeat every 30 minutes until the whole thing is solid.


now. in this picture, you're looking at a silicone dish. this sucker was great when I poured the mix into it, but when I tried to carry it across the kitchen to the freezer, the bottom gave way and granita liquid poured all over the white floor. and the fridge. that's not part of the recipe. learn from my mistakes!


once solid, take a fork and scrape the granita into icy flakes. pull the fork down the length of the pan until you have a dish of crystallized granita flakes. transfer the mix into a dish, cover tightly, and put it back into the freezer. once it's frozen in flake form, you have granita! you can scrape off portions into bowls and serve to impress your friends and family.

I must repeat: they will not be impressed if you spill the whole thing all over the floor. they will probably laugh at you and maybe help clean up but also probably smear some of your mess on you. and you'll deserve it for not listening to me.