Raspberry Granita

Jesus said "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst."  John 6:35

My husband and I recently met close friends in Greenwood, MS for a little weekend trip.  We took a cooking class at the Viking cooking school that night (yes, our husbands 

participated!) and made some amazing recipes.  This was the dessert we made which we LOVED.  It is such a refreshing summer treat!  

1 C. water

3/4 C. plus 2 T. granulated sugar

3 C. fresh or frozen raspberries (about 16 ounces)

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)

Fresh raspberries, optional garnish

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat; cool to room temperature, then chill in fridge until cold.

In a food processor, puree the raspberries with the lemon juice and cold sugar syrup.  Strain the puree through a mesh strainer (see photo-- this is half way through my straining process.  I was able to get LOTS more liquid out till I are just left with a mess of seeds).  Work it with a spatula or spoon, pressing it against the sides to extract as much liquid as possible.  Trash the seeds.  Taste and adjust the flavor with additional lemon juice if needed.

Process the puree in an ice-cream machine until soft serve consistency.  Then transfer to a storage container.  Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface and freeze until firm (about 1 hour).  To serve, use a fork to scrape the surface; this will form delicate granita ice crystals.  Spoon into chilled glass (if desired), garnish and serve immediately. 

Serves 6

Viking Cooking School

Tips:

Several notes on this one.  First, the instructor told us you can do this with other fruits you like.  I have not tried it but I plan on trying strawberry and peach this summer.  Although the raspberry one is so delicious it will be hard to beat.  

I'm certain my simple syrup was not fully chilled when I used it.  This was my plan of action.  Do the syrup in the morning.  Transfer it to a bowl that will not hold its heat.  Cool slightly and put in fridge.  A few hours before I planned on making it, I set the raspberries on the counter to slightly thaw.  Just go ahead and use 1/2 a lemon and don't bother to measure it.  It is a must to use a fresh lemon!

I do not have an ice cream machine.  (The ice cream machine just helps to speed up the freezing process but it is NOT necessary)  So, I just made the mix, poured it into a rectangular metal dish that has a 2 inch lip around it  (like a cookie sheet but deeper), pressed seran wrap on top and put in freezer.  You could also do it in some sort of tupperware container.  You just want it to be a longer rather than deeper container or it will take too long to freeze.  The metal pan helps it to freeze faster.  I did that at about 2:00 and it was ready a few hours later.  It really doesn't matter how hard it gets.  Just use the fork to scrape it and serve.  You really could even make it the day before and just set it out a few minutes before you scrape it.