La Cocina de Leslie: shaved ice

Homemade snow cone (shaved ice) syrup made with fresh mango and a hint of cinnamon.

The temps are heating up here in Mexico, so it's time to keep cool with one of our favorite summer treats... Nieves Raspadas (aka raspados/raspas/snow cones)! Making your own snow cones at home is a fun summer activity for kids of all ages. And since mangos are one of our favorite summer fruits, I decided to combine the two for a sweet and delicious frozen treat. I like to add a dash of ground cinnamon to my mango syrup to enhance the flavor of the mango, but if cinnamon isn't your thing you can leave it out and still have a delicious raspado de mango. And if like me (Hubby & our kiddies) you like to spice things up a bit, sprinkle a little Tajin (dried chile & lime fruit seasoning) on top for an extra kick.

What's your favorite raspado (snow cone) flavor?

Nieve Raspada de Mango (Mango Shaved Ice) - lacocinadeleslie.com

19 May 2015

Almíbar de Mango (Mango Syrup for Shaved Ice)

Will Smith (famous actor/rapper) once said, "It's summer, summer, summertime! Time to sit back and unwind." Well, I can't think of better way to unwind (with the kiddies) on a hot summer afternoon than with a cool and refreshing icy treat . My good friend and partner-in-crime Girlichef couldn't agree more, because she chose Nieves as our theme for this month's edition of She Made/Ella Hace.

Heather (girlichef) made us a grown-up treat...a Lemon Drop Granita made with vodka! But whenever I think of summer and icy treats, I think of the summers I spent when I was 4, 5, and 6 years old in San Luis, Sonora and Nieves Raspadas (snow cones), also known as Raspados. I don't remember eating much else, besides my beloved Huevos con Chorizo, all summer long. I must've eaten at least 3 nieves raspadas a day. And who could blame me? Nieves Raspadas are sweet, cool, and refreshing, and they were just the thing to help a little kid beat the glaring heat of the Sonoran desert.

Back then my favorite almíbares (syrups) for nieves raspadas were strawberry and tamarindo. To this day, I still love those two flavors, but now that I'm all grown up I have a new favorite...Almíbar de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flower syrup). It's sweet and kind of tart, with subtle floral undertones. And it's such a pretty shade of bright magenta.

I love Nieves Raspadas SO much, I'm going to be dedicating a full week to them on the blog starting this Monday, June 24th.

Almíbar de Jamaica para Nieve Raspada
(Hibiscus Flower Syrup)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
2 cups water
4 cups sugar

Directions:
Combine the dried hibiscus flowers with the water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of syrup over a cup of shaved or crushed ice. Enjoy!!!

Don't forget to visit Girlichef's blog to check out her Lemon Drop Granita. And be sure to tune into my Cocina next week, as I'll be sharing more recipes for Nieves Raspadas.