Grapefruit Granita

Adapted from Food Network (via Dave Lieberman)

If you are like me and you hate to make dessert (but like to eat it), this is the way to go. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and it provides a clean, bright end to a meal.

3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice
Mint sprigs, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine boiling water and sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add the grapefruit juice. Pour into a freezer-safe dish and freeze until hard.
To serve, chill ramekins or margarita glasses by filling with ice and very cold water. Meanwhile, scrape the top of the frozen juice mixture with a fork. Drain the serving dishes and spoon the fine, powdery crystals into them. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
Quick Tips
1. If you want the boldest grapefruit flavors, squeeze the juice from fresh grapefruit at room temperature. However, if you’d rather use pre-squeezed juice, find 100% pure grapefruit juice. Do not settle for any sort of juice blend or sweetened juice variety.
2. The recipe recommends freezing the juice in a 13 by 9-inch pan. I did not have that kind of real estate available in my overcrowded freezer at the time I made this, so I used a Pyrex dish shaped sort of like a loaf pan. It has a top, which worked nicely to keep out the freezer flavors. The frozen juice is much deeper than it would be in the 13 by 9-inch pan, but I didn’t really mind since the whole thing needed to be scraped anyway.
3. This works as a light, refreshing dessert. If you really want to impress your dinner guests, serve this between courses as a palate cleanser. For example, if you are serving a soup or salad with strong flavors, serve the granita afterward to prepare them for your piece de resistance (whatever that might be).

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Freezing time: 2 hour(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

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