Here’s the thing about granitas: you might recognize them as slushies or slurpees or shave ice. The nuances are small, but the most important thing to know about the granitas we make is not that they’re slushy or bright but that they make use of the freshest ingredients–in this case, delightfully ripe summer peaches.
The process for making granita is more or less the same, whether you’re starting with coffee or fruit. Here, we take peaches, Champagne, amaretto, and simple syrup made from sugar and combine them.
We dissolve the sugar into simple syrup, dissolving the grains so the final texture is smooth, not gritty.
That’s blended into a fruity, frothy mix:
We pour the mixture into a flat, wide pan and stick that in the freezer. Because there’s booze, which has a very low freezing point, in there, you don’t need to scrape the pan every half hour as you do with coffee granita.
By the time the granita emerges several hours later, it’ll be easy to scrape the ice into individual ice crystals. Scrape as much as you want (it’s kind of fun!). That’s the whole entire process–yes, you need a little time, but you don’t have to do much, turn the oven on, or get a lot of dishes dirty.
If you’d like, you can turn this into a frosty cocktail by topping off the “slush” with peach schnapps or more champagne. You can also add mint or basil to the puree or as a garnish for an herbal note that complements the peachy flavor.
Get the whole recipe below.
Peach Champagne Granita
INGREDIENTS
½ cup water
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon amaretto
3 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
1/2 of a 750ml bottle Champagne or other sparkling wine
First, make the simple syrup and let cool to room temperature. Place the simple syrup, the peaches, and amaretto in the blender and puree until smooth. Add the Champagne. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square pan and place flat in the freezer. Freeze until frozen through, 4 hours or overnight. Scrape a fork through to create crystals, then spoon into small serving bowls. Eat immediately.
