Name: Beet Kvass and Campari Granita
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons beet kvass; 2 tablespoons orange juice; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 tablespoons Campari

Why This Recipe Works

Would a Negroni cocktail (equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari) top your list of items you’d bring to a desert island? Would you choose radicchio over butter lettuce any day of the week? If you answer “yes” to these questions, you have a bitter tooth, and this granita is for you. We were really excited about taking the sour kvass left over from our Fermented Beets and pairing it with bitter Campari for a refreshing granita that could serve as a palate cleanser or light dessert. But the sour-salty-bitter-savory combination proved a little too intense and aggressive to garner mass appeal. So we decided to balance those elements by adding orange juice, which contributed sweetness and a citrus aroma that helped counter the bitterness. The combination reminded us of a Negroni, and no one could argue with that.

Photography by Steve Klise

Before You Begin

Serve this granita as a light and refreshing dessert or as a palate cleanser for your next fancy dinner party. You can temper the intensity of the granita by serving it with lightly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Beet kvass is a lightly fermented Eastern European beverage, traditionally made by fermenting beets in a brine with rye bread—click here to get the recipe for our version. Use freshly squeezed orange juice here, not store-bought. It’s worth the extra effort. Campari is the Italian liqueur that gives bitterness and depth to the almighty Negroni cocktail.

Instructions

Whisk kvass, orange juice, sugar, and Campari in medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pour into 8-inch-square baking pan and transfer, uncovered, to freezer. Freeze for 30 minutes. Using fork, scrape granita to break up large chunks of ice. Return to freezer and continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes, until granita has texture of snow cone, 1½ to 2 hours longer. Serve. (Granita can be transferred to lidded container and stored in freezer for up to 2 weeks.)