Orange Mango Granita with Chardonnay

May 20th, 2010 by jolan in recipes

Granita is a traditional Italian dessert, a semi-frozen treat related to sorbet and the ubiquitous Italian ice. “Granita” actually comes from the Italian for “grain”, as each spoonful is a small scoop of sweet, icy flakes. Granita is easy to make, as long as you have a blender and a freezer – you can spend a few minutes in the kitchen after breakfast, and have a light, refreshing dessert in time for dinner.

The base recipe begins with a few simple ingredients: water, sugar, and flavorings. From the broad category of “flavorings”, though, comes a wide world of options including fruit, coffee, and chocolate. This recipe uses the bright citrus of naval oranges and a bit of pineapple, the tropical touch of mango, and the warm spice of a California Chardonnay.

Chardonnay from the New World (in this case, California) is a lovely compliment to the tropical fruits in this granita, as the style of wine tends towards aromas of, well, pineapple and mango. Fret not, however, if you don’t have a bottle from California Chardonnay in your refrigerator – crisper, lighter dry white wines (like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio) would work equally well here, if bringing out different subtle flavors in the granita.

Enjoy your granita with an espresso after dinner, or slushy-style with a spoon and a straw, or (my personal favorite) with brioche and butter in the morning. Granita truly is a refreshing treat for most any time of the day.

Orange Mango Granita with Chardonnay

Note: I stipulate the 1/3 cup pineapple simply because I didn’t have enough chopped mango to measure a full cup. You can certainly decide to go full mango (hey, that’s a good blog name) and forgo opening a can of pineapples; the point here is to have a full cup of fruit. (Though to be honest, the touch of pineapple turned out splendidly.)

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup ice cubes
2/3 cup mango, chopped (about 1 mango)
1/3 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup Chardonnay

Start off by making a simple syrup: bring the water and sugar to a boil, then reduce heat and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. While the syrup simmers, add the cinnamon stick, so it may infuse its pungent spice.

Once the simple syrup is on the stove, grate the rind of one of the oranges. You should measure just over a tablespoon. Squeeze the juice of the oranges to measure ½ cup.

Remove the simple syrup from heat, and stir in the ice cubes. Place the mango, pineapple, and simple syrup mixture into your blender, and process for a minute or so until smooth.

Stir in the orange juice and rind, and the cup of Chardonnay. Pour into an 8 inch square pan (I used my handy Pyrex piece), cover, and freeze until firm (about 8 hours).

Once the mixture is firm, remove the pan from the freezer, and scrape everything with a fork until fluffy. Serve in cold bowls or cups, with spoons, straws, or cookies.

|