POMEGRANATE GRANITA

Granita. I'm a sucker for sparkly jewel-toned shards of delicious ice.

Light, refreshing, and super easy to make, granitas are my go-to dinner party dessert. While I do enjoy granitas in the heat of summer, I actually prefer them after heavy winter fare, when a rich dessert just feels like too much. This pomegranate granita would be wonderful after a hearty veggie stew, a feast of succulent roasted meat, or even Thanksgiving dinner.

Pomegranates have a tangy, tannic, earthy flavor which I find mysterious and totally irresistible. Straight pomegranate juice can be quite intense so I've added orange juice and zest to mellow things out just a bit, and the extra layer of flavor adds a wonderful citrusy brightness to the dessert.

We all need an easy recipe (which can be made in advance) to help out with the holidays, right?

 

INGREDIENTS
printable recipe

• 3 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice
• 1/3 cup tap water
• juice and zest of one large orange or two smaller satsumas
• 1/2 cup light agave nectar
• optional for serving: candied orange peel; whipped cream with a splash vanilla extract & sweetened with powdered sugar or agave

In order to thoroughly integrate all ingredients, vigorously shake up pomegranate juice, water, orange juice, zest, and agave nectar in a large lidded jar or old milk bottle (you can also use a mixing bowl and whisk if that's easier for you).

Transfer liquid mixture to a baking dish and place it in the freezer. Every hour or so, remove the dish from the freezer and scrape the solid bits with a fork. After a few hours of freezing and scraping, your granita will be ready to serve. (Keep in mind that the shallower the baking dish and more spread out the liquid, the quicker the chill.) If you forget to scrape the granita regularly and end up with a frozen block of pomegranate ice, go at it with a fork until you have a beautiful flaky consistency.

If you are a serious pomegranate lover like my kids are, serve little glasses of this granita all on its own. You can also top it with candied orange peel, or keep in mind that the granita is absolutely delicious topped with billowy sweet whipped cream.

Once it comes out of the freezer, granita melts quickly - be sure to eat it immediately after serving.

Serves 6-8. Keeps in the freezer for 2 weeks.
 
 

LEMONGRASS + GINGER GRANITA

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite mamas out there, and especially to my own mom!

There are no Hallmark Cards or tear-jerking commercials to remind the Balinese that this is a day to celebrate mothers - I can only imagine how completely strange they would find this entire holiday. In Bali there are daily rituals and countless elaborate ceremonies to honor ancestors, nature, and spirits, but no Mother's Day. I am not complaining. In so many ways, the past eight months of travel have felt like one long Mother's Day for me; all this family time has been a dream, and every day I am grateful to be Otis and Lilah's mom. Okay, now I'm getting all sappy on you!

Let's get to a recipe that is easy enough for kids to make for/or with their moms....

Granitas make me happy - I love recipes that leave room for improvisation while still being reliable in their deliciousness. P, the kids, and I are devotees of this always-refreshing and easy-to-make dessert.

Since we hit the road last August and haven't always had the best equipped kitchens, granitas have become our favorite after dinner treat: we made ruby red grapefruit in Northern Australia; pineapple in Fiji; elderflower in New Zealand; and now, lemongrass granita here in Bali. Always curious to see food at its source, P and I took a shady walk along the rice fields just north of Ubud to visit Mr. Nomad's organic veggie farm. There was plenty of lemongrass sprouting and P remarked that maybe we could try growing this fragrant herb at home in Berkeley this fall.

Continuing our granita making tradition, I wonder what flavor we will make next month in Corfu when celebrate Abby's birthday. What delights will a Greek Island farmer's market have in June? I cannot wait to find out.

Note: Be sure to make your granita at least a few hours before you want to serve it. The freezing process takes a while.

RUBY RED GRAPEFRUIT & GINGER GRANITA

I miss my kitchen. During the past five weeks, we have eaten in more restaurants than I can count, and for the most part the food has been really tasty. Having meals cooked for me day after day is an indulgence I haven’t had experienced in years. That said, from time to time I long for my home kitchen with all of its familiar tools, counter tops.....

Last week, we had an apartment with a real kitchen and ample equipment to make our own meals. After a little sleuthing, I tracked down the one and only organic market in Darwin, Australia - not a town known for its cuisine. Though during our stay in the Northern Territory, we did try baramundi, kangaroo, and termite mound (yes termite mound!). 

Greenies is hidden deep in a rundown strip mall, ghostly with its many vacancies. The shop is no cartoonishly abundant Bay Area market, yet Greenies had everything we were looking for - life, good music, and happy hippie foods. Rushing back to our pad, we roasted chicken in our familiar way, tossed together a Berkeley-style salad with plenty of avocado and arugula, and ate kilos of strange exotic fruits.



Darwin is damned hot - over 100 degrees every day we were there, and this wasn’t even the hot time of year. I needed the satisfaction of making a refreshing treat for my travelin’ clan. After spending a month in Bali indulging with decadent abandon in fresh fruit juices, lassies, and slushies, I felt inspired to make my own fruity concoction. It was devoured in minutes - a success!

The candied ginger, though not necessary, was delicious with the granita. Next time I’d like to make my own.

Blood Orange, Kishu, and Cardamom Granita

Making granita is ridiculously simple, but it is not a quick dessert. If you have a few hours on a weekend afternoon to occasionally stir the slowly freezing concoction, you will be greatly rewarded.

We hung out with Abby and Jon recently and they shared a box of their beloved Kishu Mandarins with us. These juicy tangerines from Ojai are so good simply peeled and popped into your mouth like candy; mixed with a little cardamom, blood orange, and a splash of rum, they made a delicious granita.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 blood oranges
• 2 dozen Kishu or other sweet and juicy tangerines
• 3 cardamom pods, slightly crushed so the flavor releases easily
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum
 

Squeeze citrus until you have 2 cups of juice.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, stir citrus juice, sugar, cardamom, and rum. Over high heat, dissolve sugar, stirring constantly. When sugar has dissolved, remove from heat. After letting the liquid sit for 15 minutes, strain out cardamom pods and seeds.  Cool completely, even overnight if you don't yet have time to slowly freeze the granita.

Freezing: Pour liquid into shallow baking pan. Freeze 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and stir to break up any frozen bits. Make sure to scrape the edges of the pan, this is where the freezing begins.

Continue to freeze for 20-30 minute intervals. Stir. Freeze again. After two to three hours of freezing and stirring, your granita will be ready to eat.

Once you are ready to eat the granita, remove from freezer and serve immediately. It melts quickly.
 
We have made this granita repeatedly in the past few weeks and served it with a dollop of whipped cream, a little slice of brownie, or a few salted chocolate shortbread. The additions are decadently delicious, yet in truth the granita can easily hold its own as a fresh and bright end to a meal.

Makes 1 pint