La granita del Vescovo
Serves approx 8-10
While visiting my family at our vineyard in Polignano, I was trying to think of new recipes where our wine would be the star - and one that would also be refreshing in the scorching heat of the sun and reflect the traditional food of Puglia! Ed eccoci qua! Of course - frozen, iced wine!
Whenever my family from London would travel to Bari, our dad would take us to a little stall in the old town ‘Bari Vecchia’ where a man would have an enormous block of ice. He would scrape the ice into a little paper cone and pour a deliciously sweet red syrup over the top - oh the joy and satisfaction we got from that lovely treat!
This recipe is entirely dedicated to those special memories.
A granita does need a couple of days to set so do be prepared. This is a very grown-up granita but it is so easy to make and tastes incredible! When serving your granita, try to add a little edible flower or a sprig of mint, they make a beautiful garnish for this simple palette cleanser or desert.
La granita del Vescovo
Ingredients:
175 g sugar (approx 1 cup)
1 bottle (750 ml) fruity red wine, such as our Il Vescovo, Tinto or Cantiniere Primitivo
250 ml water (enough to cover the sugar)
Preparing the granita
In a saucepan over a medium-high heat, stir together the sugar and water.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved - this is your sugar syrup.
Once the syrup mixture has come to a boil, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
When the sugar syrup has cooled completely, stir in the wine.
Pour mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container.
Freeze for about 1 day, then, using a fork, scrape and stir to break up ice crystals.
Return the granita to the freezer until firm (I left mine in there for 2 days!), occasionally scraping and stirring with a fork.
To serve your granita
To serve, spoon the granita into chilled glasses or bowls add your garnish of edible flowers, mint or fruit and serve immediately.
Top tips:
Prepare well in advance
Adapt amount of sugar depending on your preference but you do need to use a sugar syrup or your granita will not set!
Ensure the edible flower garnish is edible!
SALUTE!