Sangria granita

March 1, 2019

Sangria granita with almond olive oil biscuits is a light, refreshing finish to a meal.William Meppem

easyTime:2 hours +Serves:6

With much less sugar than sorbet, granita is essentially fruit juice or liquid captured in large ice crystals. While it takes a bit of effort to make, granita will keep in the freezer for weeks.

Ingredients

400ml rioja (or other Spanish red wine)
150g castor sugar
100ml water
1 peach, roughly chopped
1 plum, roughly chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, roughly chopped
120ml orange juice (zest the orange before juicing and save for the biscuits)
60ml lemon juice

Method

Step 1
For the granita, combine wine, sugar and water in a medium saucepan and stir gently over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped fruit and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange and lemon juices. Cool to room temperature, then pour into a shallow baking dish or rectangular food storage container (ideally to give a depth of about 3cm) and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 2
Strain the liquid, discard the fruit, then decant the sangria back into the container. Cover with a lid or cling film and place in freezer.
Step 3
When the liquid has formed an iced rim around the edge (about two hours), scrape with a fork and combine with the remaining liquid in the container, then place back in the freezer. Repeat this scraping every few hours until the mixture forms a smooth consistency of ice crystals. Keep frozen until serving.
Step 4
When ready to serve, scrape the granita into chilled glasses and serve immediately, with the biscuits on the side.