Strawberry, Citrus and Champagne Granita

Jules127's Note:

This is a great "Italian ice" I got from Epicurious and made for a friend's birthday dinner. It was easy to make, done in advance and even appealed to non-dessert eaters. I used Cava in place of the champagne and served the granita in martini glasses. Great, refreshing summertime dessert!

• Total Time: 5 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup water
• 1 ½ lbs large ripe strawberries
• 1 ½ cups fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 ½ cups dry champagne
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup Grand Marnier or ¼ cup orange liqueur

Directions:

1. Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil 1 minute. Cool. Refrigerate syrup until cold, about 45 minutes.
2. Puree enough strawberries (about 6 large) in blender to yield 1/2 cup puree. Transfer strawberry puree to large bowl. Mix grapefruit juice, Champagne, lemon juice and chilled syrup into strawberry puree. Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan.
3. Freeze Champagne mixture until icy at edge of pan, about 55 minutes. Whisk to distribute frozen portions evenly. Freeze again until icy at edge of pan and overall texture is slushy, about 40 minutes. Whisk to distribute frozen portions evenly. Cover and freeze until mixture is solid, about 3 hours.
4. Meanwhile, slice remaining strawberries. Place in large bowl and toss with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup Grand Marnier. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.
5. Using fork, scrape granita down length of pan, forming ice flakes. (Granita can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.) Divide sliced strawberries equally among 6 wineglasses. Top with granita and serve immediately.
6. Note: I stuffed a ball of plastic wrap in the bottle of the leftover cava and put it in the fridge. And it kept bubbly until the next night! It was great to have the chilled cava with the granita!