“A famine of snow, they themselves say, would be more grievous than a famine of either corn or wine.” Eighteenth-century author and traveller Patrick Brydone's keen observation indicates not only the importance of that frozen matter in the development of a culture’s cuisine. but that this pivotal moment was due in no small part to the Arab influence on southern Italian food.
The snow in question is that nestled around Mount Etna on the island of Sicily – it inspired the Arabs who used it to make sarbat, later to become granita and sorbets. But unlike ice cream and sorbets, you don’t need an ice cream machine to make granita.
Simply get hold of the juiciest Irish strawberries to make what could become a regular cooling ingredient in your freezer this summer. In Sicily, granitas are often served for breakfast, with a dollop of whipped cream alongside warm brioche for dunking.
Ingredients:
450g strawberries
400ml water
200g sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Make a stock syrup with the water and sugar (mix the water till the sugar dissolves). Wash the strawberries and leave them to dry, then blitz them with the lemon juice till you get a pulp. Add the stock syrup and blitz for about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into a container and put into the freezer, preferably overnight.
Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist
