BOOK/A TABLE - Champagne & Sorbet

As far as I’m concerned, the shorts stay on until mid-October, at least. And why not? The seasons have gone haywire—Memorial Day weekend weather doesn’t really start until sometime in June now and I prefer to think of September as the new August.

With that in mind, it’s still a fine time to knock back an effervescent Sgroppino! A video from Nigella Lawson popped up on Instagram and I was immediately intrigued as she mixed together lemon sorbet, champagne, and vodka for a last-gasp-of-summer cocktail.

It happened to be a bit of a coincidence then that I also came across a mention of champagne sorbet when reading Doctor No by Ian Fleming. While trapped in the madman’s “mink-lined prison” our favorite undercover agent James Bond is handed two huge menus: “They might have been from the Savoy Grill or the ‘21’ or the Tour d’Argent. Bond ran his eye down one of them. It began with Caviar double de Beluga and ended with Sorbet à la Champagne.”

Champagne Sorbet may certainly serve as a tasty dessert, but a Sgroppino is easier to make and yields quicker results without having to wait around for the whole thing to freeze. Cheers then—and say “yes” to the rest of summer!

Nigella Lawson’s Sgroppino Recipe
(My booze-free suggestions in italics)

Ingredients
100g Lemon Sorbet (about 2/3 cup)
25ml chilled vodka (1 shot) or herbally Ritual gin
25ml chilled prosecco (1 shot) or Giesen New Zealand Sparkling Brut

Method
Get a small coupe or martini glass and a small wide-ish jug. Scoop the lemon sorbet into the jug.
Pour over the vodka, followed by the prosecco. Mix swiftly but gently with a couple of forks, pulling the sorbet apart and into the liquid rather than beating the ingredients together.
When you have a lump-free cohesive mixture resembling a cloud of frosty froth, pour into the prepared glass.
Raise to your lips and prepare to be transported!

TIP: Chill your glasses to keep your cocktail cold – put them in the freezer for at least 30 mins, or up to 2 hrs before serving. (Avoid freezing crystal and delicate glass.)

This recipe was created by Nigella for Ocado.

 

 

 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe

I don’t know what to tell you except that we were gifted an enormous amount of salmon roe from a very generous friend and we had to do something with it. I found this recipe for a luxurious pasta dish featuring fish eggs and set to work. Thin spaghettini is suggested, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Try linguine or fettucine.

Smaller jars of orangey-pink salmon roe or paddlefish caviar are usually less expensive than the black stuff (Sevruga, Beluga, etc.), so if you are looking to make a simple, elegant dish for a loved one, look no further. Double the recipe to include a few guests!

P.S. Lighten the whole thing up with condensed skim milk instead of cream. But do use both butter and oil. 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe
memoriediangelina.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
150g (5 oz) spaghetti
100g (3.5 oz) salmon roe (2 small jars)
1 shallot, finely minced
A splash of dry, white wine
A good pour of heavy cream
Butter (or a mixture of butter and oil)
Salt

Directions
Cook the pasta in abundant, well salted water until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt a good dollop of butter (or a mixture of oil and butter) in a skillet. Sauté the shallot over very gentle heat for a minute or two, then add a splash of white wine. Raise the heat and let the wine reduce until it become syrupy. Add the cream and reduce again, until you have a nice, ‘saucy’ consistency. Turn off the heat and add half the salmon roe, mixing it well with the cream. If you like crush a few of the roe to add color and taste to the sauce. Taste and adjust for seasoning; the sauce should be very flavorful.

When the pasta is done, transfer it to the skillet. Turn on the heat to medium-high and mix the pasta with the sauce until all the strands of pasta are well coated with the sauce. If you find the sauce it a bit too thick, add more cream. If too thin, just let the pasta cook a bit longer. The pasta should not be swimming in the sauce, but it should slither around easily in the skillet.

Serve in pasta bowls and top each portion with the remaining salmon roe.