It is not a secret that I love a granita – they are easy to make, refreshing and delicious.  My first foray into granitas was a gin and tonic version which was an absolute belter to serve after a curry.  You may remember my blood orange granita earlier this year which was just fabulous, the citrus  flavour singing out and the colour simply beautiful.  Seasonal that one though, which is both good news and bad.

This granita however you can enjoy any time of the year.  Iced tea is something I rarely drink here but have enjoyed in America where it is on most menus.  I rustled up this granita one day and entered it into one of Food52’s weekly recipe competitions (www.food52.com).  Well, blow me down, not only was it selected as one of the Community Picks in iced deserts which is a great honour, it has also been viewed over 1,000 times.  Woo hoo I think the expression is.

All this excitement aside, it is a great pud on a hot day and one you can make a couple of days ahead and keep in the freezer.  I am willing to bet you will have the ingredients anyway and if not it is cheap as chips to make.  Serve in little glasses, the glorious amber crystals deserve to be shown off.

Iced Tea Granita

I use Yorkshire Tea for this as it is my every day tea (being a Yorkshire lass).  The flavour and balance is spot on and makes this granita exactly how I like it.

250ml freshly made tea, cooled

2 tablespoons lemon juice

40g caster sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice over a low heat then mix with the tea.  Strain into a shallow container with a lid.  Freeze for 3 hours and then mix well,  breaking up the frozen crystals around the edges and mixing them with the slushy centre.   Freeze for an additional 2 hours and then mix again.  Repeat.  When ready to serve, scratch up the granita with a fork and serve in small glasses.  If you have made this ahead and it has frozen solid take it out of the freezer about 30 minutes before you want to serve.  This would do 4 small glasses but can easily be doubled.

Note – if you want to make an orange version similar to the Blood Orange Granita (February 2012) I would use ordinary oranges and add the juice of a lime for that extra zing.