Granita

This fruit ice is flavored with cinnamon and allspice. It is garnished with slices of peach, nectarine and plum; other seasonal fruit would work, too. Follow with iced espresso.

In Italy, coffee granita is served in tall glasses filled halfway with granita and topped with whipped cream. We've added some white chocolate and anise-flavored liqueur.

After experiencing a dazzling meal and the gracious hospitality of Martín Berasategui, one of the top Basque chefs, at the restaurant that bears his name in Lasarte-Oria, he gave us a final taste of his talent in a wonderfully refreshing granizado de cava. The following concoction I devised is very nearly the same, and surprisingly simple.