Espresso Granita

Espresso Granita

8 cups cold espresso or twice-brewed coffee

3 cups bar sugar

In a large bowl, combine espresso and sugar. Pour the mixture into a stainless steel or glass pan (a glass loaf pan works well), 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. Try serving in chilled latte or espresso cups topped with a bit of sweetened whipped cream and some small biscotti or amaretti cookies on the side.

Serves four to six.

Nutrition values per serving: 269 calories, 1 g fat (0 saturated), 77 g carbohydrates, 0 fiber, 0 protein, 0 cholesterol, 45 mg sodium.

Sean Eastwood, Isabella's Estiatorio, Geneva