By May Rostom

Granitas are the perfect summer treat. They are great refreshments on the beach, full of fruit vitamins, and don’t have a lot of calories.

Ingredients
4 cups of big, ripe strawberries
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 table spoon of finely cut basil leaves
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup of cold water

 
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Directions
Combine ¾ cup water with 4 tbsp of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir for 2 minutes until sugar has dissolved and leave to cool. Mix the sugar syrup with 2 cups of strawberries and 1 tbsp lemon juice in the blender until a puree forms. Transfer to a fine sieve and force pulp through to discard seeds. Pour the puree pulp into a shallow pan and leave in the fridge for 3 hours. Occasionally scrape with a fork to flake it then re-freeze. Repeat the process until the desired texture is obtained. Half an hour before serving, chop up the remaining 2 cups of strawberries into quarters; add the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar, pepper, basil, and vinegar, and mash into a slightly chunky mix. Upon serving, mix the icy granita with the chunky strawberry mix.

*this recipe serves four people, contains 110 calories per serving, and zero grams of fat.