Savory Tomato Granita
Make your next frozen treat a savory one
Sweet chilled delights abound during the summer. We suggest making your next cold treat a savory one with our Test Kitchen's tomato granita–or, as we like to call it, "tomato snow." Tomato liquid is frozen with sherry vinegar, lemon juice and agave syrup, with surprisingly punchy, sweet-and-sour results. Put a scoop over creamy burrata cheese, or spoon it onto grilled vegetables for a chilly contrast. The granita is one cool customer.
Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen
Tomato Granita
Make your next frozen treat a savory one.
Prep Time
3.5
hours
Cook Time
0
minutes
Servings
6
to 8 servings
Total time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 large ripe tomatoes (about 2 pounds), preferably heirloom, stemmed and halved crosswise
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoons agave syrup (depending on the ripeness of the tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
Directions
- Place a large fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl. Squeeze one tomato half into the sieve, squashing it to release as much juice and pulp as possible. Use a rubber spatula to press the pulp through the sieve. Discard the skin and seeds. Repeat with the remaining halves; you should end up with about 2¾ cups of tomato liquid. To the liquid, stir in the sherry vinegar, lemon juice, agave syrup and kosher salt, to taste.
- Transfer the mixture to a nonreactive, medium-size square container. Freeze until the edges of the mixture begin to harden, about 1 hour, then drag a fork through the mixture to break it up into smaller ice crystals. Repeat every 30 minutes until the granita is fully frozen and fluffy in texture, about 3 hours total. Divide into small bowls and serve.