Tomato and Watermelon Granita

  • Watermelon Flesh (cut into cubes) 608g
  • Cherry Tomatoes (preferably Sun Gold) 429g
  • Sugar 100g
  • Water ½ cup
  • Lemon Juice 1T
  • Lime Juice 1T
  • Chopped Mint 1T
  • Salt 1/8 t

Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 5 seconds. Pull off the skins.

Heat sugar and water to make a simple syrup. 

Blend all ingredients together in vita mix. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze for 2 hours. Move ice around with a fork every hour or so. Flake before serving.

Brown Sugar Meringues

  • Egg Whites 240g
  • Sugar 290g
  • Salt ¼ t
  • Brown Sugar 110g
  • Vanilla 2t
  • 10x Sugar

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix whites, sugars, and salt in a mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugars dissolve and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Fit a small 1 inch French star tip onto a pastry bag. Pipe small decorative mounds of meringue on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Dust each meringue with powdered sugar.

Bake for one hour, or until meringues are firm and dry on the outside. Turn off oven and let meringues sit for an additional hour.

Cucumber and Apple Gelee

  • English Cucumber skin, chopped - From 1
  • 100% Simple Syrup 75g
  • Granny Smith Apples, small dice with skins - 2
  • Apple Juice 285g
  • Citric Acid 2g
  • Agar 1 ½ t
  • Green food color as needed

Make a simple syrup out of equal parts sugar and water. Measure out amount needed.

Dice up the apples in small pieces, leaving the skins on.  

To a blender add chopped cucumber skin, diced apples, apple juice, simple syrup and citric acid. Blend over medium speed and press through a chinois.  

Measure out 1 ½ cups of the liquid and whisk in the agar. Let sit for five minutes and then bring to a boil. Empty out into a shallow hotel pan and let set up in the cooler. Blend until smooth. Blend in a very small drop of green food coloring.

Dehydrated Mint Sugar – Dry bunch of mint leaves in a dehydrator.  Pulse in a spice grinder.  Pulse in 10x, a teaspoon at a time until you get the desired light green color.  

Melon Sorbet

  • Water 4 cups
  • Pectin 4t
  • Salt ½ t
  • Cantaloupe or other melon puree 5lbs
  • Sugar 800g
  • Corn Syrup 350g
  • Lime Juice - From 2 limes

Whisk together the pectin, salt and sugar. Boil water and pour over mixture, whisking until dissolved. Pour over the fruit puree. Add corn syrup and lime juice and blend with immersion blender or in vita mix. Chill completely over an ice bath before spinning or refrigerate and spin the following day.  

To plate: Place a mound of flaked granita at the bottom of a small bowl. Place two purple scoops of sorbet on either side of the bowl. Surround with brown sugar meringues and watermelon balls. Dot twice with cucumber gel. Dust with mint sugar. 


Recipe courtesy of pastry chef Eric Wolitzky of La Tavola (Atlanta, GA)