Granite protagonists of the summer. For all the gluttons, in fact, life is hard in the holiday months. With the great heat one does not talk about kneading and baking a cake, nor about making a cream thicken on the fire.
The anti-stuff solution is there, and it's within the reach of the freezer: it's the granita, a splendid frozen dessert that includes a few steps and a pinch of patience, to then give great emotions.
Master recipes
To reveal recipes and tricks for perfect slushes Maurizio Poloni, master ice cream maker of Arctic, Milanese establishment founded by Fabrizio and Mariano Fioretti. "To make the slush creamy and the percentage of sugar"explains Poloni." The Sicilians know it well not less than 20% in the basic mixture, composed for the rest of water and main ingredients, such as juices and fruit ".
Let's start with the granita of fresh fruit. "Whether it's melon or strawberries, peaches or mangoes, it takes 500g to get one kilo clean and pureed fruit pulp. Separately, prepare a syrup by dissolving 200g of sugar in 300ml of water, without boiling: if you have a thermometer, it should mark 82 ° (or in any case, appear transparent and without bubbles, ed) ".
"Removed from the fire, it is done cool down syrup, for example by placing it on a frozen bain-marie, before adding the fruit smoothie. It is time for freezer. Pour the mixture into a baking dish low and wide: the thinner the layer, the sooner it will solidify and be easier to work. So in the freezer for at least 4-5 hours, often stirring it with a spatula: at the beginning, even every 15 minutes ". With this technique, which takes only a few moments, the ice crystals, as they are formed, and a fine, full-bodied but soft granita is obtained.
The makeup of the professional? "Dissolve in the syrup 2g of carob seed flour (you buy in natural food stores or online, ed) that increases viscosity and improves creaming. "And pay attention to the pan: better if it is metal, aluminum or thin steel, which transmits cold quickly and allows the mass to easily detach from the walls during the scrambling phase.
As in Sicily
For many, granita are synonymous with Sicilian pastry. Here then is that in the chef's recipes, delicious island tastes cannot be missing. "For the granita of lemon, you need a 25% fresh juice, to taste filtered: for our kilo of granita, are 250g. By calculating the sugary percentage of the citrus fruit, I recommend using 2 ounces of sugar, to be dissolved in just over 550ml of water ".
We end with a slightly more complex recipe, but so refined that we can worthily end the most chic summer dinners: the granita of almonds.
"For this, one must start from a block of almond paste and keep in mind that this product already contains sugar for half its weight. Then, according to our doses, for 200g of almond paste, shredded in a mixer, prepare a syrup with 700ml of water and 100g of sugar. Once warmed, blend with the chopped dough by combining even 30g of almond flour (chopped almonds). For an even more elegant dessert, 200 ml of water can be replaced with the same milk".
The important clarification given by Poloni is that of not having the granita wait long, whether it is homemade or bought ready, but to consume it within a a day. "A philosophy that we follow with all our products in ice cream parlors, prepared daily and practically at the moment in a laboratory that works continuously for 12 hours a day".
Some like it dark
Granita is not just fruit. Those who love strong flavors can experiment, for example, with the recipe of the pastry chefs of Domori, maison Piedmontese chocolate. For their slush granita it takes 140g of 72% cocoa chocolate, to be chopped and collected in a bowl. To this, 160g of very fine cane sugar are added and 700ml of warm water is poured, blending to emulsify well. The mixture is then transferred to the tub and to the freezer, proceeding to the creaming as for the other granitas. The extra touch: before serving, blend quickly with the immersion mixer.
Finally, a good one coffee, obviously in version frozen. Prepare a syrup with 200g of sugar and 600ml of water, let it cool and add 200ml of small coffee. Stir and go into the freezer. Serve the coffee granita garnished with a nice tuft of whipped Cream. And, in these hot days, try it – why not – even at breakfast, maybe with one Brioche with Tuppo. For a chilling start to the day.
Francesca Romana Mezzadri
July 2017
updated in August 2019 by Claudia Minnella
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