Blood Orange Granita
This bright and citrusy Blood Orange Granita is an easy recipe to make for a refreshing dessert, and it’s a great make-ahead recipe!
If you’ve ever had dippin’ dots before, I feel like granitas are the icy form of dippin’ dots. They are little fluffy flecks of juicy flavor that melt on your tongue, and it’s super refreshing. It’s so easy to make too! Today we’re going to make one with blood oranges.
I first discovered blood oranges when I was living in Spain, and I found them to be tremendously confusing. Like, what on earth is wrong with that orange, why is it so red inside? Now blood oranges are all over the place in the US and the internet abounds with tons of recipes celebrating this gorgeous fruit. Seriously, isn’t it incredible how much more variety of produce we have compared to ten, heck, even five years ago? I love it!
The blood orange season is coming to an end in several weeks, so I wanted to share this granita before they disappear. I saw some Moro blood oranges at the grocery store yesterday, and I think those go through March, and a variety called Taroccos goes through April or May. If you don’t get to snatch any up, you don’t need to use blood oranges specifically for this recipe (you can use oranges, tangerines, etc), but the color just won’t be as vibrant as the blood orange.
To start, we’re going to make a simple syrup. Sometimes blood orange juice can be tart, so a little sweetness helps take it to dessert level. Also, we’re going to add just a touch of ground clove, which adds a really nice aroma and warming flavor to the granita.
Combine the clove simple syrup with freshly squeezed blood orange juice, then place in a small dish:
Place in the freezer for 1 hour, then rake and fluff the ice with a fork:
Keep repeating the process, freezing a little more, until you get fluffed up ice:
Spoon the granita into dishes, and serve. Enjoy!
Blood Orange Granita
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/16 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or the microwave, combine the water, sugar, and cloves. Heat to a boil and cook until the sugar is fully dissolved. Let cool completely, then chill in the fridge.
- Whisk to combine the blood orange juice with two tablespoons of the clove simple syrup*. Taste it and see if you’d like to add any more simple syrup to it, since tartness of the juice can really vary. Keep in mind that frozen foods taste less sweet. When the liquid is sweetened to your liking, pour into an 8×8 dish. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, then rake any ice crystals that are there with a fork, to fluff the crystals up. Freeze for another hour, and repeat. When completely frozen, do a final fluffing of the granita with a fork, and serve in a dish. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
3 Comments on “Blood Orange Granita”
Did this with a different type of citrus, but loved it!
I love granitas. This is great with grapefruit too, but have to add more sugar
Grapefruit and Campari!