Elegant almond granita with strawberry and basil puree

This summer, whip up a deliciously refreshing frozen granita.

My love for granita was born in Sicily, where my husband introduced me to his favorite summer breakfast of granita and brioche, which is a kind of fresh sweet bread eaten with the granita. I tried all the classic flavors, and I finally found my preferred one: almond. It is hard to replicate the ones I had on the island, but putting together some basic ingredients of ready-made almond milk and preparing my own syrup can take me back to my beautiful Sicilian summer breakfasts (and afternoon snacks or desserts) of almond granita. Adding some strawberry and basil puree makes it even more special, because the flavors go very well together. It’s a refreshing experience you shouldn’t miss.

Almond granita recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together the water and sugar, and cook until the sugar is completely melted. Let the syrup cool.
2. When the syrup has reached room temperature, mix it very well with the almond milk.
3. Transfer the granita mixture to a container (best shape is long and low, like a baking dish), and place it in the freezer. Every 30 minutes, mix the granita until it’s ready to be served. This is to ensure it doesn’t become one solid mass. If you don’t mix it and it becomes one solid mass, don’t worry. When you are ready to serve the granita, just break it into big chunks, and place the chunks into a blender to break everything up.

Strawberry and basil puree recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups strawberries, hulled
• 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
• 6 large, fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend together all the ingredients until very smooth.
2. Refrigerate until it’s ready to be served with the granita.

More strawberry recipes

Roasted strawberry hot fudge milkshakes
Strawberry clafouti
Chilled strawberry soup