Blueberry Lavender Granita Over Vanilla Ice Cream

Kaylene
by Kaylene
6 Servings
4 hr 5 min

Granita is a frozen slushy that is a welcomed cool down on a hot day. Subtly sweet blueberry with a pleasant kick of lavender over vanilla ice cream.

I have my few favorite foods that I enjoy regularly, like  broccoli salad, pretty much any type of  ice cream, and a great  lamb dinner but there is one thing that I am a true sucker for. Slushy treats. Snow cones, shaved ice, slush cocktails, heck, I am known to pop a Gatorade in the freezer and enjoy it slushy. If it’s slushy, I am there.


Usually, I curb my slushy cravings with a  grapefruit ginger bourbon slush or a  peach wine slush but lately, I was craving a slushy dessert to cool me down on the hot summer days which so far this summer has been full of them.


I have been spending so much time in the sun and this granita over ice cream has been a seriously refreshing treat after a couple of hours in the  garden.


This blueberry granita over vanilla ice cream was inspired by a red wine granita a recipe from  Honestly Yum. She made a boozy granita and served it over vanilla ice cream. As soon as I laid eyes on it I was inspired. The mixture of granita and ice cream is genius and I was off to the kitchen to create my own.

SO WHAT IS GRANITA?


Granita is a frozen treat similar to shaven ice and made with fruit and sugar. It originates from Sicily along with the delicious  gelato. I have never been to Italy – someday! but I can only imagine that an icy sweet treat hits the spot on the hot summer days. Granita can be found throughout Sicily and is apparently a little different depending on what part of Sicily you are in.


The texture can vary from large icy flakes to a more slushy like consistency with more liquid. And the flavors, all the flavors. There are some parts are famous for their coffee flavored granita or pistachio and there is a popular breakfast option that involves a brioche over almond flavored granita. Sign me up!

The pretty exciting part, aside from the delicious sweet treat part is that granita is fairly easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the granita to freeze and not sampling too many little bites as it does.

The simple process starts with simmering blueberries, lavender flowers, water, and sugar until it starts to break down. The mixture is then blended, strained, and poured into a loaf pan or baking dish.


So I say this recipe is easy, and it really is but as we all know certain recipes teach you lessons and this one did that for me. I was in the kitchen listening to one of my many favorite true crime podcasts – my current favorite;  True Crime Obsessed. If you like true crime and comedy, check it out.


Anyways, I had just gotten done simmering my blueberry lavender mixture and was allowing it to cool. I was in a bit of a hurry; never a good thing in the kitchen and I decided it had cooled enough. Well…it hadn’t.

I poured the mixture into the blender and enthusiastically hit the blend button and POP! The top of my blender exploded off and blueberry lavender went everywhere. I will never forget my Tyler’s face when he rounded the corner and he saw me splattered with blueberry and the wall covered. It looked like a muppet crime scene!


I raced to clean it off my bright white kitchen wall because blueberry stains and can be really hard to remove, but I wasn’t fast enough.

Hey, Siri: add repaint the kitchen wall to my to-do list.


So lesson learned, always allow the mixture to cool completely before blending and don’t be in a hurry in the kitchen.


In the end, the muppet massacre was worth it. This granita is so freakin’ good! My new favorite summer dessert for sure, it has everything you want on a hot summer day. The flavor is a sweet blueberry with a kick of lavender that lingers just slightly. Every bite seems to have a little different flavor than the last as the granita starts to melt into the vanilla ice cream.


Enjoy this granite over ice cream, topped with whipped cream, or enjoyed all by its slushy delicious self. My suggestion, however you enjoy it, take small bites to thoroughly enjoy this sweet summer treat.

Blueberry Lavender Granita Over Vanilla Ice Cream
Recipe details
  • 6  Servings
  • Prep time: 5 Minutes Cook time: 4 Hours Total time: 4 hr 5 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 cups blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons lavender flowers
  • 1 gallon vanilla ice cream
Instructions

Combine the water, sugar, blueberries and lavender flowers in a medium saucepan and heat on medium heat.
Bring to a low simmer and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and blueberries have just started to break down.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
Add the mixture to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a strainer.
Pour into a baking dish and put it in the freezer. Freeze for an hour and scrape the mixture to create ice crystals. Repeat this process every hour until completely frozen, about 4 hours. You can skip the scraping and freeze first and then scrape with a fork, this method creates smaller crystals.
Place a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream into a small glass and top with a few scoops of blueberry lavender granita. Enjoy immediately!
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