Almond Granita 1.0

It was good warm too, 2010

When we decided a trip to Southern Italy was off the table for this year my heart sank a little. We have wonderful memories, so many reasons to return, and I really wanted to try a granita di mandorle (almond granita). I just discovered the granita during my last trip to Italy. I don't know how I missed it during earlier trips, but as my dad would say... It is what it is. The lemon granita was my first and last granita. I was smitten with the lemon granita and had no interest in further exploration. I ate one almost every day. I now realize the error of my ways. So I made a decision. Trip to Italy or not, I would soon be tasting an almond granita.

The recipes I found were all a bit different, but centered around 3 basic components: almonds, sweetener, and a liquid. Some ground their own whole almonds and some purchased almond paste (sweetener and ground almond combined). Sugar was the dominant sweetener. And for liquid, there was milk (from a cow), almond milk (store bought or homemade), or water (still, not sparkling).

I didn't put much thought into the preparation of my almond granita, a quick scan of a handful of recipes and I was off on my adventure. Almonds? Paste. Sweetener? Enough in the paste. Liquid? Milk (whole milk...cow).

It was good. The color was nice. It froze perfectly. It was a sweet treat and we ate every last bit.

But I'd like to continue experimenting. There are some things I'd like to change. It was a little sweet for my taste, so I will use either less almond paste or more milk in version 1.1. Also, I did not strain the mixture prior to freezing. Some do and some don't. I opted for the easy route. I love almonds, why remove the ground almonds from the mixture? I'll tell you why. I wasn't thrilled with the texture of the ground almonds from the paste. The creamy frozen milk melted in my mouth leaving ground almonds behind. It wasn't terrible, but a little disconcerting. Not my thing. I will employ my cheesecloth-lined sieve next time.

You should really try this, your own variation. It is the season.

Almond Granita 1.0
2 large servings or 4 small

1 tube almond paste (7 ounces)
1 kindergarten carton of whole milk (10.66 ounces)

Slice almond paste into 1/2 inch circles and place in small sauce pan. Add milk. Over low heat, never allowing a boil, break up paste with fork to incorporate it into milk. Remove pan from heat. Confirm liquid in pan is deep enough to submerge immersion blender blade. If not, transfer mixture to a smaller pan. Blend until smooth with immersion blender. Cool mixture. Transfer cooled mixture to small baking dish and place in freezer. Lick your cooled saucepan and fork as you would a cake battered bowl and spoon. Check mixture every 30 minutes and rake, smash, and stir with a fork as it begins to freeze. Continue these 30 minute increments until the texture is to your liking. Serve Immediately.

I prefer my granita pure and unadulterated, but I have seen others add whipped cream or crushed amaretti cookies. I've seen cinnamon and lemon juice involved at different stages as well. I'm sure any of these items could prove to be enjoyable. I would not sweeten my whipping cream. This granita is quite sweet on its own.

If you do give the almond granita a go, please return later and share your findings in the comments section.

Stay cool.