Grapefruit-Basil Granite

Oysters: Recipes that Bring Home a Taste of the Sea

Cynthia Nims

The bracing acidity of grapefruit is one of my favorite counterpoints for oysters, here with a touch of extra aroma and flavor from fresh basil.

Makes about 3 cups, enough for about 4 dozen half-shell oysters

1 ½ cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice (from about 2 large or 3 medium grapefruit)

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil

2 teaspoons sugar

1. In a small bowl, stir together the grapefruit juice, vinegar, basil, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Freeze and stir the mixture (see Basic Freezing Technique, page 57).

3. To serve, take the granité from the freezer and scrape it again with a fork to loosen it. Top each oyster with some of the granité and serve right away (see the tips for serving raw oysters, page 48).

*(c)2016 By Cynthia Nims. All rights reserved. Excerpted from Oysters: Recipes that Bring Home a Taste of the Sea by permission of Sasquatch Books.

Photography by Jim Henkens

February 2016