Sparkling Satsuma Aperitif
As a food blogger, I sometimes feel it incumbent on me to paint an autumnally mellow picture of holiday cheer. Scents of apple and cinnamon wafting from the oven, mulled cider bubbling atop the hob, an artisanal bird plumping in its brine.
This isn’t that post.
Yesterday my right elbow began howling in what is either ulnar nerve entrapment or acute tendonitis. Folks, that’s the good arm. For comic relief, yesterday also marked John’s seventeenth year in a wheelchair.
Today is a fresh new day, one spent in a virtual waiting room.The sign above the door reads: “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here: Awaiting Doctor’s Return Phone Call.”
Is a drink in order, or what?
The inspiration for Sparkling Satsuma Aperitif comes from Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, chef/owners of London’s beloved River Cafe.Their Cafe Cook Book offers a seasonally varied aperitif pairing fruit with sparkling wine, most often Prosecco. We like Dibon Cava Brut Reserve, a bone dry Spanish Cava that’s a friendly $8 per bottle.
Rogers and Gray use blood oranges, which must lend incredible color. Alas, blood oranges aren’t yet available in California. Satsuma mandarins make an admirable substitute.
This is so simple it’s scarcely a recipe, but it’s light and pretty without being overly alcoholic–perfect whether you’re feeling autumnally cheery or glumly morose.
Sparkling Satsuma Aperitif
Yield: I drink, easily multiplied
1-2 Satsuma mandarins, depending on how juicy they are
6-8 ounces sparkling wine: Prosecco, Cava, Asti, the drier the better
Chill a glass in the freezer (purely optional).
If you have a juicer, juice enough fruit to get about 1/3 cup. If you haven’t a juicer, squeeze the fruit through a small strainer into a bowl, or, if you’re lazy like me, directly into the glass.
Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers say you want slightly less fruit juice than wine.
Top with sparkling wine.
That’s it.
Notes:
This isn’t precision bartending. Taste: if you want a little more fruit, squeeze it in. Or pour a little more wine.
Variations are many: this cries out for a little Grand Marnier or Triple Sec.The merest drop of Bulleit Bourbon, with its orange undertones, would work well, but the drink then moves from Aperitif territory towards pre-prandial wallop.The same applies for vodka.
No need to limit yourself to mandarins.Try oranges, grapefruit, lemons, or pomegranates, adding a little superfine sugar where needed.
Sparkling wine obviously isn’t available in 6-8 ounce portions. Buy a bottle: even if it’s only one or two of you, it shouldn’t be hard to finish over a few days, meaning you need not inebriate yourself before the bubbles flatten.
