Ingredients

1 (10 ounce) package frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed

1 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 whole strawberries for garnish

Granita Di Fragole

Serves 6

Puree the strawberries in a blender of food processor until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine sieve into a shallow dish that is large enough that the liquid will be no more than 1 1/2 inches deep - a 7 x 11 inch baking dish works well. Stir in the water and lemon juice, then place in the freezer, uncovered, for 3 hours, stirring every hour.

To serve, spoon the granita into stemmed glasses and garnish with a strawberry.

Cook's Tip:

For a festive occasion, prepare the granita as directed and freeze for 2-3 hours, until almost firm. (It's not necessary to stir every hour using this method, which will produce a smoother, less grainy ice.) Transfer the ice to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Return the ice to the shallow dish and freeze until firm, another 3-4 hours.

To server, use a small ice cream scoop to scrape along the suface of the ice. Place 2 or 3 scoops into stemmed glasses and pour 1/4 cup of champagne or 2 tablespoons of Grappa over each serving.

Note: The tartnes of sweetened strawberries veries greatly. Taste the mixture before freezing to see if additional sugar is needed.