Almond Granita with Minted Rhubarb

Ingredients

• Granita:
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2 1/2 cups water (plus more for soaking)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• Sugar to taste (2-3 tablespoons)
• Pinch salt
• Rhubarb:
• 6 slim stalks rhubarb
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Handful of mint leaves

Directions

To make the granita: Place almonds in a bowl, and cover with water. Let soak at least four hours, or overnight. Drain, place in a blender with the three cups water, and puree to bits. Strain the mixture through a few layers of cheesecloth, squeezing to get out all of the liquid you can. Add vanilla, sugar, and salt, and adjust seasonings to taste to yield a sweet, flavorful mixture.

Pour the mixture into an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. Slide the dish into the freezer, and chill for one hour. Remove the dish from the freezer, and scrape the milk with a fork to break up the crystals. Return to the freezer, and scrape the milk every 20 minutes or so, until it is frozen and, thanks to your work, fluffy crystals have formed (maybe another hour or so).

To make the rhubarb: Wash the rhubarb, and cut in a fine dice. Toss it in a bowl with the sugar, and let sit for about half an hour to let the juices come out, and the sugar dissolve into a syrup. Add the mint.

To serve, layer the granita and minted rhubarb in a glass, and slurp up before it melts.