STRAWBERRY GRANITA
Serves 4 Prep time 5 minutes Waiting time 3-4hrs

Granitas are different to sorbets and offer a textural contrast- sweet, icy and crunchy. The perfect match for warm summer afternoon…

This recipe calls for gorgeous ripe juicy strawberries full of sweetness- organic if you can. I also use rice syrup in this recipe- I like its mellow flavour and it’s a good alternative to white sugar- use 300ml to replace the stage and water. Warm it slightly to make it more workable.

Ingredients:
400g Strawberries- ripe, washed and green bit removed.
130g Sugar, dissolved in 300ml water & allowed to cool
1 Orange juiced
½ tsp Vanilla essence or ½ vanilla bean finely chopped

Method:
• Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides regularly to get a consistent mix.
Strain through a sieve and transfer into a shallow tray.
Freeze for 2-3 hours. Remove from the freezer and drag a fork through the ice crystals to mix it up a little. Place back in the freezer for an 1½ hr or until set.
Take out of the freezer and break up the crystal again before spooning into serving glasses.

To serve- garnish with a piece of mint, or a dob of great quality yoghurt (I love Meredith Sheep’s Yoghurt), or- my favourite- drizzle a couple of teaspoons of Cointreau over the top of each serve. It’s very good.