Asian Pear and Grapefruit Salad with Sake Granita and Pear Sorbet

From the kitchen of Carly

Chilled Asian pears meet bright grapefruit in this elegant dessert, topped with sake granita's delicate crunch and silky pear sorbet. Light, sophisticated, and perfectly suited to warm weather meals when you want something refreshing without heaviness.

Asian Pear and Grapefruit Salad with Sake Granita and Pear Sorbet

Sake granita and pear sorbet turn a composed fruit salad into something close to fine dining but not precious about it. The trick is freezing the sake solid, then scraping it into icy shards that melt against warm grapefruit and cold pear. Texture is everything here, and the interplay of fruit juices with that boozy crunch makes it feel generous and a little luxurious.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 3/4 cupwater
  • 3/4 cupsugar
  • 2 tbsplight corn syrup
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 3 1/2 cupdiced peeled ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears
  • 1 1/3 cupcoarsely filtered sake
  • 2 tbspwater
  • 3/4 tspunflavored gelatin
  • 1 1/2 cupwater
  • 1 1/2 cupsugar
  • 4ruby red grapefruits or white grapefruits
  • 2 largeunpeeled Asian pears
  • 1Fresh fennel fronds
  • 1Ice cream maker

Instructions

  1. Pour 3/4 cup of water into a large saucepan along with the sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Drop in the pear pieces and simmer until very tender, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor and purée until smooth. Chill the pear mixture until cold throughout, about 2 hours.

  2. Tip the chilled pear mixture into an ice cream maker and process per the manufacturer's instructions. Move the finished pear sorbet to a freezer container, cover, and freeze until firm. (Holds well 3 days ahead, kept frozen.)

  3. Pour the sake into an 8x8x2 inch glass dish. In a separate heatproof custard cup or small bowl, spoon in 2 tablespoons of water and shower the gelatin across the top. Let stand until the gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Pour enough water into a small skillet to come 1 inch up the sides and bring to a boil. Drop the heat to very low. Set the cup with the softened gelatin into the hot water in the skillet and stir until the gelatin dissolves and runs fluid, about 1 minute. Lift the cup out, pour the gelatin into the sake, and stir to blend thoroughly. Freeze the sake mixture until firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.

  4. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of water with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pull from the heat and cool the simple syrup until just warm to the touch, 20 to 30 minutes.

  5. While the syrup cools, cut off the peel and white pith from all of the grapefruit. Holding each fruit over a bowl to catch the juices, use a small sharp knife to cut between the membranes and release the segments into the bowl. Quarter and core the Asian pears, then slice lengthwise into very thin slices. Add the pear slices to the bowl with the grapefruit segments.

  6. Pour the warm simple syrup over the fruit. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours. (The compote holds up to 6 hours ahead, kept chilled.)

  7. To plate: arrange 1 layer of pear slices in each of 6 cocktail glasses. Top with a layer of grapefruit segments. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the syrup from the fruit bowl over each. Drag a fork through the frozen sake mixture all over to form icy crystals. Pile a large spoonful of granita on top of the fruit in each glass. Finish with another layer of pear slices, a layer of grapefruit segments, and a scoop of pear sorbet. Garnish with fennel fronds, if desired, and serve.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Make the pear sorbet first if you're short on time, then move to the sake granita. Both need hours to freeze, but you can work on the fruit prep while they set. The gelatin in the sake keeps it from freezing rock solid, which is the whole point, so don't skip it.
  • When you freeze the sake mixture, stir it gently with a fork every couple hours if you can, breaking up the crystals. This creates that signature granita texture. If you forget and it freezes solid, just let it thaw slightly and scrape hard.
  • Don't peel the Asian pears until just before serving. They brown quickly and lose that crisp snap when exposed to air. Slice them thin on a mandoline if you have one, straight into the bowl.

Variations

  • Skip the sorbet and use high-quality vanilla ice cream instead. It's less fussy and the cold creaminess still plays well against the boozy granita.
  • Make it all about citrus by omitting the pear sorbet and doubling down on grapefruit segments, then serve the sake granita as the cold element. Add segments of blood orange or cara cara if you can find them.
  • Swap the sake for prosecco or another dry sparkling wine. The granita will have more body and a different kind of elegance.
  • Use the sake granita over a simple composed plate of just grapefruit and thinly sliced Asian pear, dressed with a whisper of yuzu vinaigrette and fleur de sel.

Make ahead and storage

Pear sorbet keeps frozen for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The sake granita is best eaten within a day of freezing, as the crystals eventually consolidate. Grapefruit segments can be stored in their juice in the fridge for up to 2 days. Assemble the salad just before serving.