MESCAL MANGO GRANITA
Mezcal Mango Granita
We’ve got our next supper club coming up on the 11th September. It’s going to be our first since Spring, so we’re getting pretty excited. I’ll be fresh off the plane from America, working in California, visiting my brother in New York and hopefully cramming in a tip to Mexico City! So I’m thinking this and our Day of the Dead dinner on 31st October, should be something extra special! (You may remember my last trip to Mexico City, but let’s just say there was a lot of eating, being inspired, and a suitcase of chilies… )
This is a quick and simple post, since things are a little crazy right now. To give a little taster of what flavours you can expect I’ve made up a slight variation on some of the dessert for September, mezcal mango granita. For the supper club we’ll be serving it as a sorbet with a coconut crème bruleé and candied chili.
You’re wondering what mezcal is?! It’s Mexican liquor from the state of Oaxaca. Distilled from the agave plant, not dissimilar to tequila, the difference being it’s smoky distinct flavour and that tequila is only made from the blue agave plant, both are double distilled. The heart of the agave plant, the piña is roasted underground for 3 days before fermenting, which gives the drink it’s smoky flavour. Sound good? Then read on.. :)
This recipe is really simple, and you can make it without an ice cream machine, you just need a good food processor to make the mix nice and smooth. The amount of mezcal you like will vary, I like a bit of a kick, but that’s up to you! I included chili in the recipe too which goes really well with both mezcal and mango, but fell free to leave it out if it’s not to your taste..
Mezcal Mango Sorbet
250 ml water
200g sugar
4 Haiti mangoes (any kind is good)
zest juice 1 lime
3-4 tbsp mezcal
pinch chili flakes
pinch salt
Heat the sugar and water in a small pan, keep on a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Blend up the mangoes with sugar syrup, then add the mescal, chili and salt to taste, add a little at a time, you can always add more, but if you put too much it’s going to be hard to fix!
Chill the sorbet for about an hour until cold. Place in the freezer, coming back to fluff the mixture up with a fork every half hour until the mixture is just frozen and has a fluffy texture. If you do have an ice cream machine you can churn the mixture instead to make sorbet! Delicious either way. :)
