Prickly Pear Granita

For my other prickly pear recipe, I decided to make a granita. The pears are already pretty sweet so to add some tartness, I used lemon juice. To get another level of sweetness, I decided to go with agave nectar instead of regular sugar. It ended up being the perfect level of sweet and tart and the color was beautiful. Of course if you want to make this a virgin granita, replace the vodka with extra water. This was a pretty slushy granita that melted quickly so to make it less icy, use less water or vodka.


Prickly Pear Granita

1/2 c prickly pear puree (3 prickly pears for me)
Juice from 2 1/2 lemons
1 tbsp organic agave nectar
1/2 c water
1/2 c vodka


To make the puree:
Slice open the prickly pears. Squeeze the pears through your hands into a wire sieve fitted over a small bowl. With a silicone spatula, squeeze the pulp through the sieve and discard the seeds.

Whisk together all of the ingredients. Pour in an 8x8 glass dish and place in the freezer. Chill for at least 4 hours, scraping the top every hour. Can be done overnight.