Bronte Pistachio

Introduction

Granita is a unique sweet preparation, made in Sicily only, similar to a soft icecream and always served with a warm brioche with ‘tuppo’ (the small ball on top). People usually have it for breakfast in summer, but it is also consumed at any time of the day, during a break, for lunch or dinner.

To taste a good ‘granita’, with the indispensable brioche with ‘tuppo’, together with friends, is, for Sicilian people and for habitual visitors as well, a wonderful ‘Ritual’.
The origin of Granita goes back to the ancient times. In Middle Ages the work of ‘Nivaroli’ was already quite common in Sicily. The ‘Nivaroli’ used to collect and store the snow during winter, on the Mount Etna, or on Nebrodi, Iblei, or Peloritani Mountains; in summer they would carry the snow down to the coast, where it would be sold and used to prepare the ancestor of ‘granita’, called ‘rattata’, which can be translated with slush. The iced snow was scratched to make slushies with different flavours as lemon, coffee, almond and so on. This type of slush is still very common in many parts of Italy, as Calabria and Lazio regions; in Lazio region it is known with the name of ‘grattachecca’.

Every year in Acireale, in Catania province, in June, an important event, named ‘Nivarata’, takes place. It is a special festival, where it is possible to taste many types of Granita, from the most common to the most unusual and surprising ones.

Ingredients

600 gr of water, 250 gr of peeled pistachios from Bronte, 150 gr of sugar, 1 small glass of almond milk, 200 gr of fresh whipped cream for making sweets, pistachio grains for garnishing (optional).