michelle picker cooks

Cultivated in ancient China, the herb purple perilla is known in Chinese as zǐsū (紫蘇), which is the origin of the Japanese name shiso. It’s used extensively in Japanese cuisine as well as in Korea, Laos and Vietnam. The flavour is vibrant and herbaceous and reminiscent of mint or basil, with hints of cinnamon, anise and coriander (cilantro) and a slightly bitter finish. Although it is mostly used in savoury dishes, it can also be made into a syrup for use in cocktails and desserts. We had a bumper crop so I decided to make a syrup which I transformed into a deliciously refreshing and stunningly colourful granita. Perfect after a spicy Asian meal.

You will need 400g of washed red perilla (shiso) leaves to make enough granita for 6 – 8 people. In a large pot bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add the leaves and cook over medium heat until the leaves lose some of their red colour. Drain the liquid into a smaller saucepan through a fine strainer. When the leaves are not too hot, squeeze them to extract as much liquid as possible then discard the leaves. Bring the liquid to a simmer and add ½ a cup of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat off and add ¼ of a cup of apple cider vinegar. The syrup is now ready to use to make drinks. For the granita, I added more sugar in the form of a syrup. Make a double sugar syrup by simply dissolving 2 cups of sugar into 1 cup of water and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add ¼ – ½ a cup of this syrup to the perilla syrup. It’s best to taste as you go until you find it sweet enough – note that freezing reduces sweetness a little. I added 2 tablespoons of vodka to my granita to keep it a little softer. If you have an ice cream machine, you can churn and then freeze the granita. Alternately, pour it into a container and freeze until nearly set then remove, beat the mixture and return to the freezer.