Wasabi Mint Granita

Name: Wasabi Mint Granita
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: makes 5 Cups
Ingredients: 2 cups sake; 1 cup sugar; 12 wasabi leaves; 1 ⁄ 3 cup fresh mint leaves; 1 cup seltzer

Serves
makes 5 Cups

HELEN ROSNER

Wasabi—a zesty cousin of horseradish—adds a palate-cleansing herbaceousness and a slight tingle of heat to this lightly sweet, refreshing shaved ice dessert. While in the past wasabi has rarely been grown outside of Japan, it's beginning to be cultivated in the U.S. by growers such as Frog Eyes Wasabi. This recipe first appeared in the tablet edition of our June/July 2014 issue with Adrian J.S. Hale's story "Mean Green."

Ingredients

2 cups sake
1 cup sugar
12 wasabi leaves
¹⁄₃ cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup seltzer

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Instructions

Step 1

Purée juice, sugar, wasabi, mint, and ½ cup water in a blender; stir in seltzer. Pour into a 9" × 13" baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer. Using the tines of a fork, stir the mixture every 30 minutes, scraping edges and breaking up any ice chunks as the mixture freezes until granita is slushy and frozen, about 3 hours.