Match of the week
Prosecco and jelly
Is there a good match for jelly and ice-cream? A dessert wine can seem too heavy - and ice cream can strip out its sweetness - but prosecco is perfect, as I discovered at the weekend.
The jelly in question - a blood orange and Campari jelly at the Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth - admittedly had a touch of bitterness which helped. And the prosecco, Nino Franco Rustico, like most sparkling wines, had an added ‘dosage’ or sugar solution that prevented it tasting too tart. The slightly sweeter Cartizze might have been even better but what made it work so well was the combination of textures - the frothy bubbles and the gently quivering jelly.
Coincidentally we had been at a friend’s the previous night who had made a rhubarb jelly with prosecco which was equally good - and very pretty. Jelly and prosecco is the way to go for spring and summer entertaining, I reckon. You heard it here first ;-)
Cicheti and an Aperol Spritz
If anyone can make Aperol - the Venetian Campari drinkalike - fashionable it's Russell Norman of Polpo, Polpetto, Spuntino and now Da Polpo - four of the coolest (and smallest) restaurants in London. Admittedly bitters are not to everyone's taste - they are...well...bitter but I find Aperol fruitier and easier to drink than Campari. The traditional way to serve it as as an Aperol spritz topped up with Prosecco and a whoosh of soda water - the perfect way to recover when the Tube is at its hellish steamy worst.
No self-respecting barman in Venice would dream of serving you a drink without a plate of cicheti which frequently don't amount to much more than a few dog-eared sandwiches but the Polpo stable's are in different league.
We were in the restaurant for some meatball action but managed to down a couple of pizette including this zucchini chilli and mint one (right) with which our spritzes paired perfectly.
You can order a whole lot of other delicious things like grilled fennel and white anchovy, and potato and parmesan crochettas. (Mmmm. Potatoes and cheese. My favourite.) A great place to graze.
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