Grattachecca
This Roman Style Shaved Ice is a delicious way to beat the heat.
Dear readers,
Well, the dog days of summer have well and truly arrived. And on both sides of the Atlantic, it seems. Even if we’re lucky enough to have AC, high temps nevertheless have me thinking about ways to beat the heat.
Here’s one that helps the denizens of the Eternal City endure the hot Roman summer: grattachecca, the quintessentially Roman shaved ice. While grattachecca as we know it today goes back to the early 20th century, Romans have enjoyed flavored ice since ancient times. Today’s grattachecca is a street food, typically served in a tall plastic cup, with a long spoon to scoop it up and a straw to lap up the final bits as the ice inevitably melts before you have a chance to finish it.
Sadly, grattachecca isn’t quite as common as it once was, but you’ll still find stands around town, with many of the better known ones clustered near or along the Lungotevere, the boulevard that runs through the center of town along the banks of the river Tiber.
Making grattachecca at home
Of course, unless you happen to be visiting Rome or actually living there, you’ll have to make your grattachecca at home. The good news is that it couldn’t be simpler. You just shave or crush some ice, drizzle it with fruit syrups or juice, then, if you like, garnish it, typically with fresh fruit, coconut or a sprig of mint depending on your other flavors.
There are countless flavor combinations to choose from, but a few classics include orzata, an almond syrup, lemoncocco, a mix of coconut syrup and fresh lemon or orange juice, amarena (wild cherry), watermelon and mint. The sky’s the limit.
To learn more about grattachecca, where you can find it on your next trip to Rome, and how to make it at home, click on the button below.
Happy cooking!
Frank
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Granita di caffè
Most commonly made with coffee or lemon juice, granita is a kind of rustic sorbetto, easy to make at home—no ice cream maker is needed—and has a coarser, more crystalline texture.
Granita is sometimes confused with grattachecca (and vice versa) but the two involved basically opposite methods: granita starts with an already flavored liquid, typically espresso coffee or lemon juice, which is slowly frozen and stirred into crystals. Grattachecca starts with solid, plain ice that’s then made edible via shaving and flavoring. Both are delicious in their own, very different ways.
Sorbetto di limone
Along with gelato, sorbetto is perhaps the classic Italian frozen dessert. And perhaps the most basic. Sorbetto di limone is essentially frozen lemonade: Simple syrup is made by simmering sugar and water together, to which lemon zest is added and allowed to infuse its flavor. When this flavored syrup cools completely, it is mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice and chilled in your ice cream maker until frozen but still quite soft.
Although, like gelato, you can enjoy sorbetto di limone as a snack—especially nice on a hot day—more often you’ll find it at the end of the meal, a cool and refreshing palate cleanser that’s equally welcome after a light fish dinner or a belly-busting mixed grill.
Gelato di mirtilli
Here’s a simple way to make gelato, well within reach of even beginner cooks. In this recipe for gelato di mirtilli or Blueberry Gelato, puréed blueberries—high in pectin, a natural thickener found in many fruit jams—and lightly caramelized sugar help provide that lusciously smooth texture we associate with gelato. And it’s more or less impossible to mess up.
Cremolata di pesche
Often compared to and sometimes confused with granita, a cremolata has a smoother, creamier texture. You make it with fruit pulp blended together with sugar, water and lemon juice to make a kind of pourable “smoothie”, which you then freeze. To achieve its characteristic texture, you shave the frozen mixture little by little, then stir the shavings into a creamy mass. Or you can make short work of the process in an ice cream maker. Using this basic recipe, you can make a cremolata with a variety of seasonal fruits.
Cremolata deserves to be better known. It’s as full of flavor and as smooth and creamy as gelato and yet lighter on the tongue. And, of course, since it lacks any dairy, it’s vegan as well. And if you have a blender and ice cream maker at home, it’s really simple to make. Well worth adding to your repertoire.
Semifreddo alle fragole
A semifreddo is one of the easier Italian frozen desserts to make at home. No churning or stirring is needed. Essentially a frozen mousse, it remains fluffy and creamy because of the egg yolks, egg whites and cream, which are each whipped separately with the sugar until frothy.
And once you’ve gotten the basic technique down, you can make almost infinite varieties of semifreddi.