Nectarine Granita, or how to cool down this summer.

I still have plenty to post about my recent holiday, but this little detour into the present is necessary to alleviate this stifling heat. I know it isn’t as hot here in Sydney as Melbourne, or Adelaide, but it is still pretty sticky and uncomfortable, so do yourself a favour, blend up some fruit, mix in some sugar syrup and booze, freeze until solid then devour, you know you want to. 

Granita is a frozen water based dessert, not smooth like sorbet, but granular, rustic, crystalline. Granita works best if you add sugar syrup and/or alcohol as your mixture will freeze solid, but not into a completely solid ice block, which makes it easier to fork through at the end to get your ice flakes. If you add too much, then it won’t freeze hard enough and you will end up with a slushy, which may not be a terrible thing.

All you need is a blender (although, you don’t even need that), a freezer and a fork, and in a few hours you’ll be devouring this light, refreshing and flavourful dessert (or palate cleanser). 

Having just left a tropical fruit paradise I was surprised by the variety, quality and value of the fruit here in Sydney (I just returned from Paddy’s markets in Sydney with almost as much stonefruit and mangoes as I could carry, for under $10). There have been a few years recently where I have completely missed the stonefruit season, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again. The day we came home saw us lugging bags full of groceries home, mostly nectarines. How better to use them but to make granita?

Nectarine Granita
Adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller’s White Nectarine Granita
Serves 4

400g (about 5) medium sized yellow nectarines
150ml sugar syrup (boil 1 part water with 1 part sugar until dissolved, about 1 min, cool)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
90 ml rosé

Stone and cut fruit and blend flesh until smooth with lemon juice and sugar syrup. Stir in rose, then place in wide flat container and freeze until solid, a few hours or overnight.
When frozen, remove from freezer and scrape in a crosshatch to create ice flakes. You may need to return these to the freezer to ensure they don’t melt, or complete this process in batches.
Serve in individual glasses or bowls.