Mango Soup with Lychee Granita

This one is from Jason Atherton, who runs Maze Restaurant in London. I went there for my birthday a few months ago (photos to follow in another post).

Anyhow, he is a skilled chef who is inspired by the recent movement of small plates (tapas-style) and tasting menus. The dinner we had there (13 courses) was incredible. I'll post that info this week.

The texture of this soup is amazing. It's not velvety. It's satiny. I can't describe it. The mixture of the lychee granita with it is sublime. Best of all, this takes virtually no skill to execute. But, man, it delivers.

MANGO SOUP:
2-3 large overripe mangoes
200-250 ml lychee juice
200 ml light sugar syrup (page 240)
LYCHEE GRANITA:
500 ml lychee juice
LYCHEE ICE CUBES:
400g can lychees in syrup
few mint leaves, shredded
TO SERVE:
drizzle of sugar syrup (optional)
handful of baby mint leaves

First, make the lychee ice cubes. Drain the lychees and reserve the syrup. Put one lychee and a little shredded mint into each compartment of an ice-cube tray. Fill the tray with the reserved syrup and freeze until solid.

For the lychee granita, pour the lychee juice into a wide shallow container and freeze for 2-3 hours until semi-frozen. Scrape the granita with a metal spoon to loosen the ice crystals around the edges and mix them into the still-liquid center (but don't beat, as you want to achieve a granular texture). Return to the freezer for a few more hours.

For the mango soup, peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the stone. Chop roughly and whiz to a smooth puree in a blender or food processor. Mix in 200 ml lychee juice and the sugar syrup, adding a little more lychee juice as necessary to get the desired consistency. Pass the puree through a fine sieve and discard the fibrous pulp.

To serve, pour the mango soup into chilled bowls and drizzle with a little sugar syrup if you like. Scrape the lychee granita with a strong metal spoon and place on one side of each bowl. Scatter the baby mint leaves over the granita and serve immediately, with a few lychee ice cubes on the side.