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1
Blanch the Avola almonds in boiling water for one minute. Drain and peel immediately by pressing each almond between the fingers so the skin slips free. The peeled almonds should be white and plump — any brown-skinned almonds retained will dull the flavour.
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2
Place the peeled almonds, bitter almonds or apricot kernels, sugar, and cold water in a blender. Blend to the finest paste the machine will produce. The mixture should be milky, dense, and uniformly smooth — no visible almond granules should remain. This is the entire flavour of the dish; the quality of the almond is everything, and this step is where the dish lives or dies.
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3
Strain the blended paste through a fine sieve or muslin, pressing firmly to extract all liquid. Discard the dry solids. The resulting almond milk should be opaque and ivory-coloured.
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4
Pour the strained almond milk into a wide, flat metal container and place in the freezer. After 30 minutes, scrape the partially frozen edges and surface thoroughly with a fork, breaking up any solid sheets and drawing them into the centre. The mixture should show the first pale crystals forming at the edges.
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5
Repeat the scraping cycle every 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours total. At each interval, use the fork to break the mass into large, distinct ice crystals coated in almond syrup. The granita is ready when it holds a coarse, slushy consistency throughout — no liquid pools remain, no solid block has formed, and large separate crystals are visible across the full depth of the container.
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6
Immediately before serving, scrape the granita once more to refresh the crystal structure. Spoon into tall glasses. Serve at once alongside the warm, split brioche col tuppo — the thermal contrast of cold granita against warm brioche is the experience the dish is built for.