Syrup peaches and how to become a bartender

A nice way to preserve the last peaches and raspberries of the season and save some for a day you could use a little sunshine.

The peaches can be used for the famous Bellini cocktail¹ as well. I will give you the recipe below and of course it is not mine. The non-alcoholic version, however, is mine (NO not kidding). If you use the raspberries as well, it will take you no trouble to get the demanded pink color.

For the syrup-peaches:

4 peaches

10 raspberries

peppermint leaves

200 gr. of sugar

½ l. cold water

Sterilize a jar (500 ml will do) by putting it in a 200° heated oven for half an hour.

Rinse the peaches in running cold water to have their skin removed easily. Peel the peaches, cut them in half and remove the pit.

Put the peaches in the jar and add a raspberry and a peppermint leaf every now and then.

Put the water and suger to boiling, stir slightly to make the sugar melt completely. Let boil for a few minutes.

Pour the sweet water carefully over the peaches until the jar is filled. Close the jar.

This way, you won´t be able to keep them for a long time. Actually, you should sterilize the jar and it contains in boiling water for about 20 minutes. Wrap it in a towel to prevent it from punching against the pan and break.

For the Bellini cocktail:

2 peach halves

150 ml. cold prosecco

Blend the peaches, mix them with a little prosecco (to prevent the prosecco from bubbling out of the glass) and put the mash in a champaign glass. Then fill the glass with prosecco and serve cold.

For the non-alcoholic Bellini cocktail:

Replace the prosecco by 75 ml. Spa lemon and 75 ml. sparkling mineral water. 

                                                                                                                             

1 © Giuseppe Cipriani, Harry´s Bar (Venice, between 1934-1948)

Panna cotta with a red fruit icing

This is an easy and very fast desert that never fails and it fits in every menu.

Ingredients:

For the panna cotta:

200 ml. cream

50 gr. Sugar

1 sachet vanillasugar

1 gelatin sheet

Let the gelatin soak in cold water for about ten minutes. Make the cream with the sugar and vanillasugar boil (be careful because that happens very quickly).

Squeeze the gelatine and stir it through the cream. Leave it in the fridge for at least three hours.

Variations:

For a chocolate panna cotta: use 10 grams of cocoapowder instead of the vanillasugar.

For a coffee panna cotta: use 1 sachet cappucinopowder instead of the vanillasugar. Stir well, because it clumps rather easy.

These variations don´t match with the fruitsauce, but whipped cream or caramelsauce is very nice.

For the fruitsauce:

350 gr. red fruits

1 tablespoon lemonjuice

50 gr. sugar

2 tablespoons of jelly sugar

Mash the fruits with the sugar and the lemonjuice and rub it through a sieve to remove the seeds.

Add the jelly sugar and make it boil. Let it boil for a few seconds. Pour it through a sieve and then let it cool down.