Cinnamon Kitchen's Lychee Goji Bellini - A Curry For Change recipe (cocktail recipe)

I have recently been sharing with you a number of recipes I have learned from the Indian cooking Masterclass I attended at Vivek Singh's Cinnamon Kitchen restaurant. I was invited by Find Your Feet, a unique and very special charity which has a firm philosophy of offering assistance for the long term rather than aid for the short term. Find Your Feet were holding this Masterclass, with recipe demonstrations by Indian food luminaries Dhruv Baker, Vivek Singh himself and Anjum Anand to launch their "Curry For Change" initiative; a fundraising campaign where we, the great British public can enjoy and indulge our curry obsessions and help people at the same time. Either by eating at one of the Curry For Change partner restaurants, shopping with a partner company or holding your own Indian food dinner party, you could help raise money for Find Your Feet. The money is then spent on giving poor, remote rural communities much needed education and empowerment to help them look after themselves, their community and increase their farming potential to allow them to feed themselves. 

I previously wrote about the Masterclass here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/curry-for-change-indian-cooking.html

I have also, with the very kind permission of Find Your Feet, featured the three recipes I was taught at the Masterclass. The starter, Dhruv Baker's Prawn Malaba Curry can be found here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/dhruv-bakers-prawn-malaba-curry-recipe.html

The main course, Vivek Singh's Roast Saddle of Lamb can be found here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/vivek-singhs-roast-saddle-of-lamb-with.html

Anjum Anand's Pomegranate Souffle can be found here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/anjum-anands-pomegranate-souffle-with.html

The Masterclass was a delight, not just because I learned so much from Vivek, Anjum and Dhruv, but also because I got to meet so many food enthusiasts and fellow bloggers. We had a fantastic time chatting and swapping notes. This chat was further assisted by some delectable canapes and glasses Vivek Singh's Cinnamon Kitchen Lychee and Goji Bellini. I am a sucker for a sparkling wine cocktail, they really are one of my very favourite things, and perhaps on the evening I had one Bellini too many. But how was I to resist such fruity perfection?

Chef Vivek Singh and his Cinnamon Kitchen team looked after me superbly at the Masterclass, but their kindness did not end there. They have agreed to share the recipe of the Lychee and Goji Bellini with me and my readers. Thanks to everyone at Cinnamon Kitchen - I really appreciate it, and will be making this on balmy Summer nights.

I hope you will give it a try too!

Lychee & Goji Bellini

This is a modern, summery take on the classic Italian Bellini.

Delicately light and floral, lychee pairs perfectly with the Fair Goji Liqueur which is packed with vibrant red fruit flavours and a depth of richer herbal notes. The elegant, crisp Prosecco is dry enough to balance the drink and prevent it being overly sweet.

The Fair Goji Liqueur is made from goji berries which are organically grown and Fair Trade Certified. They are sourced directly from a co-op of 300 farmers in the Tibet region of the Himalayas. The sugar used in Fair Goji Liqueur is also organic and Fair Trade Certified, coming from a co-op of 800 independent farmers in Malawi.

The drink is sold exclusively at Cinnamon Kitchen for £8.95 a pop.

Lychee & Goji Bellini 

(Serves 1)

Ingredients:

20ml fresh lychee juice

10ml sugar syrup

8ml Fair Goji Liqueur

100ml Villa Doral Prosecco

Served in a champagne flute

I would like to thank Cinnamon Kitchen and Chef Vivek Singh for letting me share this recipe with you.

Red Wine Cocktails - Ruby Renaissance By Andrew Brady

Now that we are into the month of May, some of us are starting to think about the Summer. Summer is a time when it's great to eat and drink al fresco. We eat less stodgy food, leaving behind stews and casseroles, and begin enjoying salads and barbeques. And we think about drinking lighter and often longer drinks; Pimm's with strawberries and mint, Sangria, and Summer fruit punches. 

Gallo wines are trying to meet that need for lighter, brighter Summer drinking with their Summer Red wine. Designed to be enjoyed chilled, it is a world away from the heavy reds of Winter. I was sent a sample, and asked if I would come up with a Summery Red wine cocktail.

It was a challenge. Red wine has a distinctive taste and either ends up being the dominant taste of the drink or needs something very strong to counteract it. 

Spain appears to be one of the places where there are plenty of ideas for how to mix red wine. Many of you, when travelling around Spain may have tried Kalimotxo, the famous cocktail served in a tall glass made of a 50:50 mix of red wine and coca-cola. It's not subtle, although many swear by it as a Summery drink. 

Tinto Verano, popular in Andalucia (in the south) is 1 part red wine with 1 part Casera (a less sweet type of lemonade than say, Sprite or 7up), served with ice and lemon. And of course, there is Sangria, which is somewhat ubiquitous, although always enjoyable in the sunshine. (I found an interesting and original iced Sangria slushie-type pudding idea here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sangria-ice-10000001634829/) 

There are other ideas, based on Spritzers, Bucks Fizz (orange juice or a combination of orange and lemon), or mulled wine. However, I was not really happy with any of them. So I realised I had to call in an expert. 

Andrew Brady, is an English Mixologist par excellence, specialising in cutting-edge "Molecular" cocktails. Combining high quality spirits, freshly squeezed fruit juices, natural ingredients, they seek to combine flavours in daring and innovative ways. Adding unexpected ingredients such as the juices of grilled fruits, spices, chillies, fruit foams and liquid nitrogen gives another delicious twist.

Andrew Brady, Molecular Mixology Master

Originally from the Wirral, England, Andrew has worked in cocktail bars in Chester, Glasgow, and Nottingham. Now he travels the world as a master Mixologist, making noted specialist Junior Merino's "Liquid Chef" cocktail recipes, on Celebrity Cruise's luxury ships. 

Quick aside: Junior Merino is a Mexican born cocktail guru, an inductee of the Court of Master Sommeliers' Guild of Sommeliers, the winner of the International Bar Show's best cocktail competition in 2005, and cocktail consultant to Mexican Airlines, Celebrity Cruises, and 10 international restaurants and hotels, including The Modern in New York.

Back to Andrew: Andrew's passion is inventing his own Molecular cocktail creations, for which he has undeniable and considerable talent, as you will discover.

Andrew's flavour palette is vibrant and highly varied. Some of his creations have involved some strange, unlikely and highly innovative ingredients such as smoked apple, dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide), liquid nitrogen and bacon. Difficult to blend liquers such as Grand Marnier only seem to provide him with a challenge to meet. Grand Marnier is notorious, it's very distinctive signature flavour makes it difficult to blend with other tastes. He is hugely knowledgeable about classic cocktails and historical combinations, which he uses as his inspiration. 

I asked Andrew to help me invent a red wine cocktail. He immediately agreed, but was clear that he didn't want to do something which has been done before. He was determined to come up with something different and special. He experimented with a few combinations before settling on the cocktail recipe he was happy to share with readers of Snig's Kitchen. As ever, professionalism, care for his craft and a passion for perfection were apparent.

The resulting cocktail is called Ruby Renaissance. There are two variants, with the first being slightly sweeter and the second a little drier with a subtle bitter touch as a result of the addition of Aperol. We had 5 people try both versions to unanimously positive feedback. The Aperol version was considered to be a great aperitif cocktail, the sweeter version perfect for drinking in the sunshine, perhaps at a Barbeque party.

I would like to thank Andrew for his skill, patience and dedication. I hope you will give Ruby Renaissance a try!

Ruby Renaissance by Andrew Brady

(All measures are in fluid ounces)

1 fluid ounce = 28.4 ml

2oz Red wine, preferably a light red, such as Gallo's Summer Red or a Pinot Noir

1oz Vodka

1oz St Germain Elderflower Liquer

3/4oz Rose essence (preferably Dainzu brand or Monin)

1/2oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 rose petals for garnish

Variation: 1/2oz Aperol

Pour all the fluid ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake liberally. 

Take a tall glass and fill the bottom with ice. Pour the shaken fluid over the ice. 

Top with the rose petals. 

Ruby Renaissance

Serve and enjoy immediately.

I would like to thank Gallo Wine for sending me a bottle to experiment with.

Obviously, and most importantly, I would like to thank Andrew Brady for his time, care and attention in developing this original cocktail recipe.

 

Cercle De Rive Droite - Wines of the Right Bank, Bordeaux

There are many great pairings in the world. Mick Jagger n' Keith 'Keef' Richards, Morecambe n' Wise, Jeeves n' Wooster, French n' Saunders, Fred Astaire n' Ginger Rogers (although famously she had to perform each step backwards and in high heels!); the list of legendary pairings goes on and on. In food, we have pairings such as Fish n' Chips, Sausage n' Mash. But food and wine is a truly wonderful pairing indeed. There is something about a wine which when perfectly picked somehow manages to bring out, counterpoint and sometimes even 'sing' with the flavours of the dish. It makes the whole experience of eating a meal glorious. 

In the late 1990s and Noughties, we were bombarded by wines from all over the 'New World'. Countries which we Brits had not realised were viniculture nations were suddenly shipping their exotic sounding wines to our shores. South Africa, Chile, New Zealand, Argentina, and Australia were making big waves and people were happy to experiment. We twigged that California's Napa Valley was home to many other wineries, not just E & J Gallo or Paul Masson. It was an exciting time, and we forgot all about France. French wine at the time had lost its glamour. We wanted what was new and exciting. But now that initial excitement has given way to greater familiarity, we are ready to go back to French wines.  

French wine is having a resurgency. Led by the new economic powers who want a piece of that European sophistication, buyers and collectors are going back to France. It is Chinese millionaires who are buying Chateau La Fite Rothschilds in their droves, to store in cellars. There is even a Chinese edition of Decanter magazine! And the spending power of the wealthy in the states of the former Soviet Union also means the high class wines and top vintages are always in demand.

I was recently invited to a trade tasting event by an association of wine growers from Bordeaux, 'Cercle de Rive Droite'. When you start to learn about wine, and I confess to being something of a beginner, you quickly learn how connected to the geography and climate of the area it is grown that wine truly is. Bordeaux, as most people will know, is in the south west of France. It is just east of Gironde province. In London, our great river creates a North-South divide. In Bordeaux, much like Paris, it is a Left-Right divide. 

The Left bank of the Gironde is where the wines of Medoc, Haute Medoc and Graves come from. Cercle de Rive Droite (circle of the right bank) is located the other side of the river, taking in the regions of Cotes de Blayes, Entre-dex-Mers, Premiers Cotes de Bordeaux, St Emilion and its satellites. It is an association representing the growers of this specific area of Bordeaux, specifically 143 chateaux.

I attended the event with Food I Fancy's Tash. Her food blog can be found here: http://www.foodifancy.com/ In fact, if it weren't for Tash I would have missed out on this event. So my thanks go to her for letting me tag along as her 'tail end Charlie'

We were very keen to learn more about the region and sample the 2012 vintage (the latest production of wine) but had a great deal of curiosity about the older vintages of 2009 and 2010. When Bordeaux makes fine wines, to high standards of harvesting, crushing, pressing, fermenting and bottling, the resulting wine can be stored and matured for several years. Often, and depending on the exact appellation, they can be stored for anything from 2 to 10 years. 

So we set about tasting with great enthusiasm. Just when we were getting excited by the wine, when we had a real surprise. We bumped into wine expert Oz Clarke! Author of many wine books and THE wine expert (along with Jilly Goolden) from the ORIGINAL Food and Drink programme on the BBC. We couldn't believe our luck!

Oz was very kind to us, and spent time explaining what we should look for in the wines of this particular area. He was chatty and full of spirit (pardon the pun!). He didn't seem to mind our (oh, I'll be honest, my) slightly starstruck demeanour. He was a complete gent!

 We were very lucky to be able to try such a variety of top producers from the very best appellations of the Right Bank of Bordeaux. There were numerous Chateaux from St Emilion Grand Cru, highly respected and prized. There were the rich velvety flavoured Pomerols. And some Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac, with a slightly more fresh and light tasting sensibiliity.

The producers we met were informative and passionate about their love of wine and viniculture. 

We were very grateful for Oz Clarke's help, because he put us onto Aline Guichard-Goldschmidt and Paul Goldschmidt's three wines in the show; a Chateau Siaurac from Lalande de Pomerol, a Chateau Vray Croix de Gay from Pomerol and a Chateau le Preiure from Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe. These were special finds.

Imagine our surprise when we learnt that one of the exhibitors, Agnes Florisoone from Chateau Godeau, herself is a food blogger! Her wine was a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru which was deeply coloured, almost purple, rich, with a touch of spice and blackberries. The wine is made of 90% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc grapes, grown on a vineyard which has been producing wine for the last 35 years. Her excellent French food blog (with original recipes throughout) can be found at: http://www.cookagnes.com/ (You may need some GCSE French revision and a dictionary to hand, some of my English readers; I certainly did!). 

As I have said above, the pairing of food and wine is a very special one, so many of the exhibitors were as passionate about food as wine. We met Zita Dubois of Chateau Cassagne Haut-Canon, a producer of Canon-Fronsac appellation wine. She loves her own production wine so much, she uses it in her cooking! The classic dish Boeuf Bourguignon can only be so called if made with Burgundy wine, grown and produced in central France. Zita makes her own version, which she naturally calls Boeuf Canon-Fronsac! Zita's family have been making wine for 5 generations, and her Canon-Fronsac is made from 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc grapes.

The only white wine exhibited during the event was from Chateau Hostens-Picant, a winery which has had vines since 1460. Their only interruption to production being for 7 years after the end of the Hundred Years War. The wine was a Cuvee de Demoiselles Sainte-Foy Bordeaux blanc, which was well balanced and a nice break from all the reds. A change is as good as a rest!

The Clos des Jacobins Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe was another favourite, made by Magali and Thibaut Decoster. 

Generally speaking, 2009's vintage has a lot of fruit with big flavours and 2010 was a good year. With another 3-5 years, these will be at their peak. 2011 was not a great year, and it may take many years for bottles to reach their top condition. 2012 is a slightly happier story, but the wine will take time to reach its full potential. 

I had a super time investigating these wines and meeting the producers. There were several appellations I had no knowledge of at all. I might therefore have hesitated to order them in a restaurant or wine bar, just out of apprehension of the unknown. Being able to sample the wines, learn about the differences between the appellations which can be quite pronounced given their geographical proximity was a great experience. 

For more details, the Cercle has its own website: http://www.cerclerivedroite.com/

Coming soon: Cercle de Rive Gauche, for the winemakers on the other side of the river: http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/583709/cercle-rive-droite-moves-into-left-bank-of-bordeaux

I would like to thank Tash and Cercle De Rive Droite for allowing me to come to this event.

Please don't ask me why the font is so big on this post. I asked blogger nicely to put it into 'normal' size, but it insisted on humungous text. I'm very shortsighted, so it's no problem for me. But I'm not intending to patronise any of you with large print text. I'm sorry, but I'm not great at techy stuff. Forgive me!