Thursday, April 17, 2008

Mixed Berry-Ricotta Granita

As promised, here is the creation I made using my home-made cheese, which I'm calling 'ricotta,' for lack of a better term.

This baby is packed with good-for-you ingredients: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries sweetened with pomegranate juice, blended up with homemade cheese and frozen solid.

Berries are antioxidant-rich; studies shows that just one cup of berries provide all the disease-fighting antioxidants you need in a single day. But don't stop there: getting antioxidant benefits from a variety of foods is best. And that's why I used pomegranate juice instead of simple syrup--pomegranates, and their juice, are also packed with heart-healthy antioxidants. Cheese contains high quality protein, calcium, as well as other nutrients such as phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12.

I probably should have infused some green tea in there for even more healthy benefits, but I didn't think of it at the time.

Any way you figure it, this isn't just a yummy treat--it's good for you. Shh, don't tell the kids!


Mixed Berry-Ricotta Granita
adapted from this Giada De Laurentis recipe


In a small saucepan set over low heat, combine:


1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon dried basil (or 3 tablespoons fresh)

Bring to a simmer and immediately remove from heat; strain to remove herbs. (I had to pour mine through a coffee filter to get all the little herby bits out.)

In a large bowl, combine:

2 cups fresh or frozen and thawed berries (I used blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Pour basil-infused pomegranate juice over; puree with a stick blender (alternatively, you could do this in a food processor), cover and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until completely frozen.

To serve, scrape granita with a fork and scoop crystals into serving glasses; garnish as desired.

This is my entry for Cooking to Combat Cancer 2, a blog event about healthy, cancer-fighting, antioxidant-rich recipes, hosted by Chris of Mele Cotte.

For lots of great recipes full of good, healthy ingredients, visit the roundup.

8 comments:

Mary said...

Well the granita looks so fabulous I may have to make it and eat it by myself! Yummy!

Amanda said...

It IS possible to eat this entire recipe by yourself. It goes down easy! The hardest part is scraping it out of the container (which is a bit time-consuming) and not just putting it right in your mouth.

Unknown said...

Granita? Yum! Love pom juice. This will be a fabulous addition to CCC2. Thank you so much for your support and participation.

Squishy said...

Looks like it turned out great. Well done.

Amanda said...

Thanks, Squishy!

Amanda said...

Chris--my pleasure! CCC2 is a great event.

Anonymous said...

Oh this looks wonderful. Almost makes me want to work in the kitchen. Almost (it's a disaster because it's falling apart and I hate to be in there).

Where do you get pomegranate juice?

I'll HAVE to try this recipe. Mmmmm.

Amanda said...

Thanks, Mrs.M! I happened to buy this particular pomegranate juice at the Christmas Tree store in Syracuse--it was a really good price. Otherwise, you can pick up POM brand juice at the regular grocery store. It's a bit expensive, but really the nutritional value is worth it.

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