Iced Oranges With Granita

Total Time: 7 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 7 hrs

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 navel oranges
• extra orange juice, if required
• bay leaves or fresh edible flower, to decorate

Recipe

• 1 put the sugar in a heavy pan or small pot.
• 2 add half the lemon juice and 1/2 cup water.
• 3 cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
• 4 increase heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the syrup is clear. set aside and let cool.
• 5 slice the top off 4 oranges to make 'hats' (no more than a quarter of the orange).
• 6 scoop out the flesh from both parts into a bowl.
• 7 place the hollowed-out oranges into the freezer.
• 8 grate the rind of the fifth orange and place the zest in the sugar syrup.
• 9 juice the fifth orange into a second bowl. squeeze the juice out of the the flesh from the first four oranges into the bowl. (i did this by putting the pulp into a sieve and pressing it with the back of a wooden spoon). you should have 3 cups of juice - add more orange juice if necessary.
• 10 add this to the syrup/zest. add the remaining lemon juice and adjust with further lemon juice or sugar to taste.
• 11 pour this mixture into a shallow container and freeze for 3 hours.
• 12 at this point, the mixture should not be frozen solid. use a fork or whisk to break up the ice to give a slushy mixture.
• 13 freeze for another 3-4 hours.
• 14 when ready to serve, pack the ice mixture into the oranges and top with the hats. use a toothpick to pin a bay leaf or flower to the top of each hat. serve immediately.