Active Time

　　30 min

　　Total Time

　　3 1/2 hr

　　Before the storm of desserts comes the palate-cleansing calm. This playful, snowy mound of savory celery with hints of green apple and tarragon refreshes after the preceding spread. Counterintuitive as it may seem, taking a break before dessert¿to eat a pre-dessert¿will help you enjoy the sweet abundance that awaits.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

　　1 (1,000-mg) tablet vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

　　2 Granny Smith apples, very coarsely chopped

　　2/3 cup water, divided

　　1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

　　4 cups very coarsely chopped celery ribs (from 1 bunch)

　　Equipment: a flour sack or linen cloth

　　

Step 1

Crush vitamin C tablet in a bowl with back of a spoon, then line a sieve with dampened flour sack cloth and set over bowl.

　　

Step 2

Purée apples with 1/3 cup water in a food processor (do not use a blender) until almost smooth, then pour into cloth. Bunch up cloth around mixture and squeeze as much clear juice as possible through cloth (about 11/2 cups). Discard solids remaining in cloth. Rinse and wring out cloth, then return to sieve.

　　

Step 3

Purée tarragon with remaining 1/3 cup water in processor until water is deep green, then add celery and purée until almost smooth. Pour into lined sieve and squeeze out juices (about 1 1/2 cups) into bowl with apple juice. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

　　

Step 4

Freeze mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish, scraping and stirring with a fork every 30 minutes, until frozen, at least 3 hours. (It will be too hard to scrape once fully frozen.)

　　Cooks’ note:

　　Granita can be made 2 days ahead (cover once frozen). Let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes and re-scrape before serving.