Monday, January 9, 2012

Cappuccino Freddo/Coffee Granita


Coffee Granita

This was going to be a post for Risotto with Artichokes and Italian Sausage, and I'm sure you can see the connection .... oh, not so obvious?

Ok, let me explain.  This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we are enjoying six months of cooking with Tessa Kiros, our theme is Under the Tuscan Sun.  "Excellent!!" I thought, as I had long ago bookmarked Tessa's recipe for risotto with artichokes and Italian sausage in the Italian section of her book, Falling Cloudberries, and I knew this would be the perfect occasion for making and posting it.  With me so far?

Well, I need to go back a bit.  Last week at IHCC our theme was Winter Wonderland - an opportunity to break out all those lovely wintery, comforting dishes likes soups, stews and lasagnes.  Of course, they're a pretty good group over there, and they realise that not all of us are blanketed under several inches of snow right now.  So those of us residing in warmer climes right now were directed to come up with some kind of icy treat, something that reminds us of ice and snow.

When I came across Tessa's Coffee Granita with Whipped Cream, I absolutely could not resist sharing this icy treat.  Now this is not the kind of granita that goes into the freezer, and which you scrape with a fork every so often to break it up into millions of tiny icy shards.  No, this is something much more instant - and let's face it, who of us doesn't like a little bit of instant gratification.  The kind of thing you whip up when you're gasping for a caffine fix, but don't feel like a hot drink.

This is very reminiscent of the Cappuccino Freddos which I enjoyed on a daily basis on my trips to Greece, the only difference being that a Cappuccino Freddo uses cold frothy milk on top rather than cream, but the principle is the same.

So this I thought would be the perfect treat to share for our Winter Wonderland theme.  Trouble was the week came and went and somehow, the post never got posted.  However, since this recipe appears in the Italian section of Falling Cloudberries, I thought I could share it with you this week after all.  That artichoke and sausage risotto is just going to have to wait!

Now on with the recipe.  Actually, this is really more of a method than a recipe, and I did depart a little from Tessa's method, but you do need an espresso maker of some sorts for this - whether that be an Italian-style stove top type, or something altogether more sophisticated.
  • Three-quarters fill a sturdy glass with small ice cubes, or crushed ice
  • If you like your coffee sweet, sprinkle sugar into the glass (I don't have sugar in my coffee, but just for the fun of it I added some vanilla syrup - courtesy of Bron Marshall's giveaway last Christmas)
  • Pour a double shot of espresso over the ice
  • Whip 1/2 cup cream together with 1/2 tablespoons icing sugar (this will be enough for two people), just until very soft peaks are starting to form.  I kept mine really very soft - so it was not of a "dolloping" consistency, but a bit thicker than normal pouring consistency.  Of course if you would prefer your cream to sit in a thick dollop on top of your coffee just beat it some more.
For an authentically Greek experience serve with spoon sweets on the side;  or, if you're going Italian then a biscotti or amaretti biscuits on the side would be a great accompaniment. 

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

IHCC Tessa Kiros Button

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

CookbookSundays

I'm also sharing this at Cookbook Sundays - this week's linky is open here.  There's some great entries in already - why not add yours?!

34 comments:

  1. I love how refreshing this looks and how perfect the photo is with the spoon sweets too. Great pick! I am going to have to tag it to make.

    Your risotto will be great for this next week's rice theme too. ;-)

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  2. It's like Spring here in the southern US and I've been doing yard work. I could so go for this right now. Best part: I could have it right now since there's no ice scraping involved.

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  3. Oh my gosh, yum...I wish I had it in front of me (literally...not virtually) right now! And you know what? Everything will work itself out just fine...seeings how next week's theme is rice and all ;)

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  4. @Deb in Hawaii Thanks, Deb. The spoon sweets are perfect with good coffee - that little hit of bitter sweet orange with vanilla infused coffee - sublime.

    Will definitely make the artichoke and sausage risotto for this week's rice theme xo

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  5. @MM Michelle, this would be the perfect "pick me up" after a few hours in the garden. My motto - life is too short for scraping ice when you're desperate for coffee xo

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  6. @Heather @girlichef.com What I wish is that I had a chuck of your Pane co' Santi along side http://www.girlichef.com/2012/01/pane-co-santi-saints-bread.html

    Looking forward to this week's risotto
    xo

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  7. That looks perfect to go with the warm weather we've been enjoying on the West Coast.

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    1. We've been getting the really warm days here too. Hope you haven't had too much rain to go with it xo

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  8. This looks delicious, and no wonder you were tempted by it. But I still want to see that risotto recipe sometime!

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  9. I love the idea of serving spoon sweets with the granita! It looks delicious.

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    1. The spoon sweets are the perfect little hit of intense sweetness to go with this. I adore the orange, but I must try making some others, now that things like cherries are around.

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  10. Wonderful! Charles would absolutely love this, he is an espresso fiend. Looks snowy and delicious.

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  11. Wow, somehow I missed this recipe while perusing Tessa's books. It looks so cool, creamy, and delicious. The perfect way to enjoy a quiet break in your day!

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  12. P.S. I think you'll love the sausage and artichoke risotto when you try it. It was one of my favorite Tessa recipes so far.

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    1. I know that I am going to adore every mouthful of that risotto - I'm making it this weekend - I can hardly wait xo

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  13. I am not sure that I have ever had sweets like this..looks really tempting!

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    1. I have not ever come across sweets like this anywhere other than in Greece, but they are very easy to make yourself. There are loads of different variations in Tessa's Falling Cloudberries book, and here is the link to the Seville Orange ones that I made:
      http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/2011/10/seville-orange-spoon-sweets.html

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  14. Sounds interesting. I will bookmark this for next summer.

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    1. Andrea, hope you enjoy this treat when summer comes around :-)

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  15. Iced coffee and latte and cappuccino and coffee granita are all good for me :-). Brava, I am giving you a +1!!

    Ciao
    Alessandra

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    1. Thanks, Alessandra - yes, all of those things are good for me too - especially on a hot summer's day xo

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    1. Thanks for that, Alessandra - my Italian is just not what it should me :-) I've corrected it now - appreciate the advice xo

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  17. Granitas and cappuccinos are certainly Italian so I wholeheartedly approve of your decision! I feel truly icy right now given the cold, but I really should just up the heat and start churning out one of these! Delicious!

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    1. That's the spirit - crank up the heating, shed a few layers of clothing, whip up one of these, and imagine you were enjoying a summer's day in Italy (or Greece) xo

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  18. Had it been summer I would have gone straight away to the kitchen and make it, but it is so cold here today that I can only stare at it and be nostalgic about summer!

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    1. Yes, I guess you probably feel more like soup right now!! But summer will come soon enough to Athens and then you will be enjoying these every day, while I am wrapping freezing fingers around mugs of soup. Thanks for stopping by xo

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  19. I've never been attractive to cold coffee but this looks and sounds delicious and might give it a go.

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    1. I know what you mean. Until I went to Greece and discovered the Cappuccino Freddo I was never that fussed on cold coffee either. Hopefully this might change your mind.
      xo

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  20. Perfect for a long hot summer's day....though sadly seemed to have forgotten to pack the sunshine & left it on Waiheke!

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    1. Definitely one of my summer addictions. Hope you are getting a little summer weather again now xo

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