If you’re craving that bright, intense flavor that gelato has to offer, but you don’t have a gelateria nearby, then I have the answer for you….and no, you don’t need an ice cream or gelato maker. Try making granita! Now I know granita can have a bad rep for being too hard and crunchy, but stealing a few tricks from Giada, I’m adding some mascarpone into this granita so it has a much softer and velvety texture that melts easily in your mouth.
Since we’re looking for brightness and intensity, I though kumquats would speak perfectly to those qualities. If you haven’t tasted a kumquat before, it is a curious combination of sweet and sour. The soft yet crisp rind of the orange, olive-shaped citrus fruit has a sweet, floral and slick taste while the inside juice is extremely tart – much like a really concentrated lemon. It stand up perfectly to the creamy, sweet base of the granita without losing any of its zip and zing. It’s one of those exotic ingredients that hails from the East but has been cropping up on local restaurant menus and in high-end grocery stores for a few years now. But because they are not a staple among at home cooks just yet, they add a real wow factor to any dish. Which is another reason I like to use them in this treat. So here’s how to make kumquat granita:
What You Need:
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped mint
2 ¼ cups kumquats
½ cup mascarpone cheese
pinch of salt
What to Do:
Bring the water, sugar and mint to a simmer over low heat and stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Let it simmer for a minute and then turn the heat off. Let the simple syrup cool down while the mint steeps.
While the sugar syrup cools, halve the kumquats and removed the seeds from each one. Add them to a food processor or blender and puree into a smooth mixture. Next add the mascarpone cheese and salt and blend until fully incorporated. Lastly, strain the cooled simple syrup as you pour it into the blender or food processor. Blend until everything is combined into a smooth consistency. Pour the mixture into and 8×8 glass dish and freeze for about 4 hours. Use a spoon or fork to scrape up some of the mixture and then spoon into serving dishes.
Currently based out of Boston, Jesal is a blogger, freelance writer, yoga enthusiast and lifelong vegetarian who spent four years eating her way through New York City and various other cities around the globe. After answering hundreds of emails and phone calls answering the question, "Where's a cool place I can take my vegetarian friend out to eat" she started Veggiewala to efficiently share her knowledge of the vegetarian food scene with curious carnivores, flexitarians and other vegetarians.