2011, Recipe 71: Sangria Granita with Cold Spiked Fruit

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence (but I grabbed it from Epicurious)

(750-milliliter) bottle fruity red wine
5/8 cup sugar, divided
1 cup Cointreau, divided
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 lemon, seeded
1/2 orange, seeded
2 unpeeled peaches, pitted and quartered
2 cups red or green grapes, halved
1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Combine the wine, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup Cointreau and spices in a large saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange halves, then add the juice and squeezed halves to the saucepan. Warm for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Strain into a bowl and put the mixture in the refrigerator or over an ice bath to chill.

Pour the chilled mixture into a shallow baking pan and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight, until the mixture is frozen. Using a fork or a pair of chopsticks, break up the ice crystals on the bottom and sides of the pan. (This aerates the mixture so the finished granita will melt in your mouth.) Freeze for 3 to 4 hours, until the mixture is frozen but still granular.

Meanwhile, combine the peaches, grapes and strawberries in a bowl, add the remaining Cointreau and sugar, and toss. Cover and put the bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours; the fruit will absorb the sugar and liqueur while it freezes. Serve the frozen fruit with the granita, and garnish with mint.

Results: Interesting.  Rashan really liked the granita.  I liked the fruit.  I liked the granita more when it melted over the fruit.  I had some raspberries so I added them in.  They were incredibly tart.  My goodness!