Blueberry Champagne Granita

Though this is a between meal refresher, we'd argue that it's really the ideal summer dessert. One secret, though: save your fresh berries for eating out of hand. Frozen blueberries have a more intense colour and concentrated flavour than fresh ones, so they'll guarantee that your granita is deep violet and perfectly sweet.

1 cup sugar
1 (10 oz) bag frozen blueberries
1 bottle sparkling wine (750 mL)

Bring sugar, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Transfer blueberry syrup to a medium bowl set inside an ice bath and let cool.

Purée syrup and remaining blueberries in a food processor until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a 13x9" (or other 3 qt) freezer-safe baking dish, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible; discard solids.

Pour sparkling wine into baking dish and stir to combine. Freeze mixture until just beginning to crystallize, about 2 hours. Scrape with a fork, then continue to freeze, scraping every hour, until texture is similar to shaved ice, 3-4 hours more. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen until ready to serve.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Make Ahead: Granita can be made 5 days ahead; keep frozen.