Movie Bites: True Love Granita inspired by Disney’s Frozen

THE MOVIE
Disney pulled at even the coldest of heartstrings with 2013's Frozen , a story about sisters Elsa and Anna from Arendelle. They're princesses (obv!) but they break the mould of their Disney predecessors by being strong, independent and the eventual heroes of their own stories. Written and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the songs and score of this sibling musical are penned by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. I held out for about four-and-half-minutes of screen time before welling up. I mean, it's about sisters who sing and disagree but ultimately love each other, how could you not?

THE SCENE
We all know how most Disney stories go. Girl sings song, girl meets boy, girl gets tricked by scary witch, boy saves girl and true love conquers all. Frozen tells us that true love has the power to save people but perhaps not quite in the traditional way you might think. The moral of this story is the value of the different types of love you can have in your life – love for your partner, your parent, your sibling or your friend – and that true love isn't the sole preserve of Prince Charming.

THE FOOD
A granita sits deliciously between a snow cone and a sorbet. It couldn't be easier to make, and we know Anna's friends Kristoff, Sven and Olaf would love a spoonful of our Blood Orange True Love Granita as a sweet snack. We've used blood oranges for this recipe as they're up there with the best winter fruit, but feel free to use any citrus fruit juice. Blood oranges are naturally sweet so adjust the levels of sugar if you're using a more acidic fruit such as lemons or lime.

INGREDIENTS
yyy 55g of granulated sugar
yyy 125ml water
yyy 8 blood oranges (you'll need to squeeze around 500ml of juice)

METHOD
Mix the sugar and water together in a
saucepan. Heat to a bubbling simmer over a medium to high heat until the sugar is
completely dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Squeeze the juice from the blood oranges. You want around 500ml of fresh juice. Blend the juice with the sugar and water mix. Pour it into a freeezer-friendly baking dish (22cm x 30cm is a good size as you want the surface area to be large to ensure quick freezing) and put into the freezer for one hour.

After an hour, remove from the freezer and break up the ice crystals with a fork. Put back in the freezer for another hour. Remove from the freezer to break up the ice crystals again. Repeat this process once more or until the granita ice crystals are completely frozen.

Some people’s freezers are more powerful than others (and that’s OK) so your granita might need the overnight treatment. Just make sure you use your fork to break up the ice crystals before bedtime!