DRINKS
While the Moors did not drink alcohol they harnessed their technological aptitude and scholarly pursuit of science to develop the first still, the essential device needed to distil alcohol. These stills, or alembic in Arabic, found their way onto the Iberian peninsula where the non-Muslims discovered that distilling grape must (the seeds, stems and skins left over from wine production) produced a very potent neutral flavoured spirit, very similar to the Italian grappa.
The wonderful drinks that follow combine Moorish flavours with produce familiar to the Iberian peninsula, southern Italy and Sicily.
I wanted to include a lovely limoncello but absolutely not one like the mass-produced, sickly shots at the end of a mediocre Italian meal that so many of us will have suffered. The fresh and vibrant artisanal liqueur you can find in southern Italy and Sicily and which I’ve created here is a completely different delight altogether (see here). I’ve also included a fantastically refreshing Bergamot-ade, a twist on lemonade using delicious and fragrant bergamots that are in season over the winter months and grown mainly in Sicily and Calabria – another gift from the Moors.
You could finish off with my Cinnamon-spiced Hot Chocolate and a good glug of Spanish brandy if you like – perfect bedfellows especially when you introduce a cinnamon cream into the mix. And if you need a little pep up, an affogato always does the trick – my spin includes an exotic hit of cardamom in the form of an ice cream and then a shot of dark, rich and complex Pedro Ximenez sherry (see here).
Apple and Cumin Martini
Through trial and error I’ve found that apple and cumin work very well together – the sweet and sour of the apple contrasting with the warm, aromatic spice. There are so many quality gins around now but some can be very heavy on the botanicals which are great in a simple G&T but for this, with so many flavours at play, a more neutral flavoured gin is best. My favourite is Tanqueray No. 10.
Serves 4-ish
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly ground with a pestle and mortar
1 teaspoon cider vinegar (preferably organic)
40ml Italian vermouth
250ml quality gin
Garnish
thin apple slices
cumin seeds
Put the apple and sugar into a small pan and cook over a low heat until starting to caramelise. Add the crushed cumin and cook for 3 minutes before stirring in the vinegar. Reduce to a glaze. Add 150ml of water and cook for 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Pour into a small food processor and blitz until smoothly puréed. Pass the purée through a sieve. Leave to cool, then chill for at least a couple of hours.
Chill 4 martini glasses.
Fill a large cocktail shaker with ice. Pour over the vermouth, followed by the gin and then add the purée. Shake vigorously 14 to 16 times, then strain through a sieve into the chilled glasses. Garnish each glass with a thin slice of apple and a little sprinkle of cumin seeds.
Apple and Cumin Martini
Spiced Gin with Blood Orange
I choose a fairly neutral gin for this such as Tanqueray – too many botanical flavours will interfere with the spice hit.
You could make this with other bittersweet oranges out of season and it will still work a treat, albeit without the reddy-pink tinge of the bloods.
The recipe below is for making on the day of drinking, though you could make the spiced gin ahead of time in a larger batch and then leave it to develop and improve with time.
Serves 6
Spiced gin
2 cinnamon sticks, roughly crushed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed
6 cloves, broken up
pared zest of 2 blood oranges
50ml runny honey
400ml quality gin
To finish
400ml blood orange juice (from 4–5 oranges)
1 blood orange, peeled and segmented
6 thin slices of blood orange, to garnish
coriander seeds, to garnish
For the spiced gin, put the spices and orange zest into a saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the seeds pop and the zest starts to release its oils. This will take 6–7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey.
Transfer the spice mix to a container and pour in the gin. Mix well, crushing the spices with a fork as you go. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until ready to make the cocktail.
Chill 6 glasses.
Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain in the spiced gin followed by the orange juice. Add the orange segments. Using a long-handled cocktail spoon, stir about 20 times, then strain into the chilled glasses. Garnish each with a slice of orange and a sprinkle of coriander seeds.
Spiced Gin with Blood Orange
Iced Averna, Watermelon and Fresh Mint
Amaro Averna is a traditional Sicilian liqueur flavoured with spices, citrus, roots and herbs and then finished with caramel to give the drink its distinct colouring.
Averna is usually drunk at the end of a meal, either neat or with a little ice added as a digestif, though I like to turn it into a longer, more refreshing drink with the addition of mint, cooling watermelon and a splash of tonic.
Serves 2
100g watermelon flesh (pith and seeds removed)
a good handful of mint leaves
tonic water, to top up the glasses
100ml Averna
Place 2 highball glasses in the freezer.
Put the watermelon in a blender along with two-thirds of the mint leaves and a little tonic water. Blitz to a purée.
Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice. Pour in the Averna and then the watermelon purée. Shake vigorously for 2 minutes, then strain the liquid into the chilled glasses. Add a couple of ice cubes to each glass and top up with tonic. Garnish with the remaining mint leaves and serve.
Bergamot-ade
Bergamot, the highly perfumed and tart citrus fruit from Calabria in south-west Italy, becomes the ultimate thirst quencher when turned into an alternative to lemonade.
The bergamot fruits are only available in the winter months but you can buy the fresh juice year round.
Serves 6–8
5 bergamots, plus extra wedges for serving
200g golden caster sugar
400ml boiling water
Cut the bergamots in half and squeeze out all the juice with a lemon squeezer. Transfer it to a big jug and add the sugar. Carefully pour in the boiling water. Using a long-handled wooden spoon, stir until all of the sugar has dissolved.
Add 600ml of cold water and stir everything together. Taste the drink and add a little more sugar, if desired. Pour into bottles, put the lids on and leave in the fridge overnight. The bergamot-ade is now ready to drink.
Pour the bergamot-ade into tumblers, add bergamot wedges and ice cubes, and serve.
Rose and Rhubarb Fizz
Rhubarb isn’t usually associated with Moorish cuisine, however the North Africans have been using it for centuries as a sharp accompaniment to fatty meats or blended to a purée and served very cold as a refreshing thirst quencher.
The rhubarb will make more syrup than you need but it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks and is delicious over ice cream.
Serves 2
120ml gin (such as Hendricks or Tanqueray), kept in the freezer
10ml dry vermouth (such as Dolin de Chambery)
10ml lemon juice
20ml lime juice
8–10 drops of rose water
1 large free-range egg white
rosé champagne, to top up the glasses
rose petals, to garnish
Rhubarb syrup
200g rhubarb
200g caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6 and chill 2 champagne glasses.
For the syrup, put the rhubarb and sugar into a small baking tray or dish with 250ml of water. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, then strain the rhubarb syrup into a jug and cool.
Put the gin, vermouth, lemon and lime juices, rose water, egg white and 70ml of the rhubarb syrup into a cocktail shaker (without ice). Shake hard (this is called dry shaking). Open the shaker, fill with ice and shake again, very hard, for as long as you can but at least a few minutes.
Strain into the chilled glasses and top with the champagne. Carefully garnish with a few rose petals, then serve.
Rose and Rhubarb Fizz
Home-made Limoncello
Limoncello is one of the most popular drinks in the south of Italy, served chilled at the end of a meal or as a little refresher on a blazing hot afternoon.
Though simple to make, there are two cardinal rules to observe. Firstly the lemons should be in season, unwaxed, knobbly and preferably from the Amalfi coast (traditional recipes use only lemons from Sorrento) – the lemons should be full of flavour and headily perfumed. Secondly you will need to get hold of some 100 per cent proof alcohol, such as a vodka (Smirnoff has one) or a grappa.
With these two rules followed you’ll be able to make the most delicious, refreshing and natural drink, a world away from the ultra sweet and sickly commercial types you get offered in the more dubious trattorias and restaurants.
Makes 1 litre
6 large, unwaxed Amalfi lemons
750ml 100 per cent proof alcohol
250g caster sugar
Pare the zest from the lemons, ensuring there’s no pith, and place in a jar or other container with the alcohol. Close the jar or container and leave to infuse in a cool spot for 10 days.
Put the sugar into a saucepan with 225ml of water and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for a minute to create a syrup. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
Strain the lemon-infused alcohol through a fine sieve lined with a clean tea towel or muslin (so you get a really fine strain) into a large jug. Stir in the cooled sugar syrup. Pour the limoncello into 1–2 bottles and seal them. Leave to mature in a dark, cool spot for 10 days.
Now store the bottles in the freezer – the alcohol content will stop the limoncello from freezing solid – and serve in cold glasses.
Home-made Limoncello
Cardamom Affogato with PX Shot
This cardamom ice cream is sublime – the cardamom’s heady scent and aromatic, resinous flavour is intoxicating. It will make more than you need but will happily keep in the freezer for a month or so.
I often serve it with yoghurt and grated bitter chocolate or drizzled with date molasses, but perhaps my favourite variation is as an affogato, with rich, slightly bitter coffee poured over followed by a little shot of the sweet sherry Pedro Ximinez, famed for its dried fruit and spice flavours.
Serves 4
4 shots of hot, freshly brewed, medium-strong black coffee
4 x 25ml shots Pedro Ximenez sherry
Cardamom ice cream
300ml full-cream milk
200ml double cream
7 green cardamom pods, crushed
4 free-range egg yolks
100g caster sugar
First make the ice cream. Heat the milk and cream with the cardamom pods until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse for an hour, then strain through a sieve into a clean pan. Place on the heat and warm through again.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth but not particularly aerated. Carefully ladle some of the warm cream mixture on to the yolk mix and whisk, then add more cream and whisk again. Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the warm cream. Return the pan to a gentle heat and stir until the custard thickens – don’t let it get much over 60°C or it will go all lumpy. Allow to cool, then churn to freeze.
About 10 minutes before serving, remove the ice cream from the freezer. Scoop a ball of ice cream into each small heatproof glass or cup. Pour a shot of coffee over each scoop and then a shot of PX. Serve immediately.
Cardamom Affogato with PX Shot
Cinnamon-spiced Hot Chocolate
with Spanish Brandy
This is a really indulgent hot chocolate made all the more delicious with the addition of cinnamon and a good pinch of salt.
I’ve used Spanish brandy but a dark rum or whisky will work well.
Serves 6
900ml full-cream milk
140g dark chocolate (with 70% cocoa solids), grated
60g milk chocolate, grated
200ml double cream, plus 100ml extra for whipping (optional)
2 pinches of sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
180ml Spanish brandy or other quality brandy
Warm about 400ml of the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the dark and milk chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the remaining milk and the 200ml of cream. Bring back to a simmer but do not boil. Stir in the salt and cinnamon.
Divide the brandy among 6 hot chocolate glasses or mugs (300ml each). Pour in the hot chocolate and stir a couple of times to mix the brandy through, then serve. For extra indulgence, whip the 100ml of cream to soft peaks and top the hot chocolate with this (serve with a spoon).
Cinnamon-spiced Hot Chocolate
