Fresh Summer Ruby Peach Granita

cups fresh peach slices

˜ cup Bing cherries, pitted and halved

½ cup sugar

1 cup water

Fresh lemon juice to taste

In a bowl, combine peaches and cherries with sugar and toss to coat. Let sit 1 hour or so to allow some juices to form in the bowl.

Scrape contents of bowl into blender and add water. Blend on low until a puree forms. Taste the puree, adding a touch of lemon juice if it tastes too sweet.

Pour puree into a stainless steel or glass pan (a glass loaf pan works well for this), and place in your freezer. Set a timer for 30 minutes and remove the pan from the freezer and stir with a fork or small wire whisk to break up the ice crystals as it freezes. Repeat at 30 minute intervals until all of the mixture is crystallized and has formed a sort of frozen mush. Then cover the pan tightly or scrape into another container for storage and serving and freeze at least 4 hours.

To serve you can scrape and fluff up the granita with a fork (for loose granita), or scrape along the top with an ice cream scoop. Serve in chilled martini glasses or small chilled bowls and garnish with fresh fruit and/or mint.

Serves four to six.

Cook's note: Fresh summer peaches are at their peak for the next few weeks. This recipe uses Bing cherries as well to add a rosy color to the granita. Choose the heaviest peaches you can find and allow them to ripen on your countertop until their scent is rich and sweet and the flesh yields slightly when pressed. The peaches can be dropped in a pot of boiling water for a minute, then skinned if desired. I prefer to leave the skins on as they provide a lot of tart and tasty flavor to the finished granite.

Nutrition values per serving: 88 calories, .1 g fat (0 saturated), 24 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium.

Sean Eastwood, Isabella's Estiatorio, Geneva