I feel like now is a good time to expand our culinary horizons and to try out new things with food and drinks. Today I want to interest you in the aperitif, aperitivo or apero. It's a custom from France, Italy and Switzerland where you basically snack and drink before dinner. Fun, right? I learned about this during my semester in Bordeaux, France. The lady that rented me my room used to have friends and family over on weekends at her adorable 19th century house and sometimes, she invited me to have dinner with them, a memory I'm very fond of. I was struggling a lot with weight and body image back than, always on a diet and counting calories, and I was shocked to see all these skinny French women snack before their relatively big dinner, as well as indulge in wine and dessert! But with time I understood that in fact, that is their secret - indulging, enjoying, eating slowly, using the best possible produce when cooking, eating when you are really hungry (the break between lunch and dinner is 7-8 hours in Mediterranean countries, snacks are uncommon), and finishing with a digestif for a good digestion. And this way of eating is not a French invention, many cultures follow these principles, but I digress...
For a successful aperitif, you need light drinks and snacks that tease your appetite and make you lightly buzzed, most drinks are based on sparkling wine so you can follow up with wine for dinner. The foods will vary by country but good examples are olives, cornichons, salted nuts and potato chips, bruschetta or tapenade (olive paste on toasted baguette), or canapés. When it comes to drinks, I'd like to point out that not everyone wants or needs alcohol all the time! And you want to be able to enjoy this custom with you children, too. My suggestions for alcohol-free drinks are from Germany: the Saftschorle is great for everyone, even young kids! You mix a fruit juice (fresh-squeezed or not) with sparkling water. While I love to pour more juice than water for myself, I give my daughter about 20% juice and 80% water. Add fruit to garnish. Furthermore, I honestly don't know why non-alcoholic beer is so unpopular around here! Its' tasty, refreshing and healthy. As with every beer, the safest way is to go German 😄... please try Weihenstephaner or Erdinger!
And now its time to present some alcoholic cocktails that work wonderfully for aperitivo:
- 1) Aperol Spritz - THE pre-dinner drink in Europe, from Italy. Its easy, refreshing, a little bitter. Everyone has their own version and has to try for themselves, but it's recommended to fill a large wine glass with ice and equal parts of prosecco and Aperol, to add or not to add soda water and to garnish with an orange slice!
- 2) Kir Royal - you'll need a liqueur for this Frenchie - traditionally blackcurrant. But there's also peach, raspberry, blueberry... (I found the brand "Mathilde" great for that.) In a champagne glass, pour 1-2 tablespoons of liqueur and then add your bubbly (white & dry)! Real Champagne is more chic (and then its just "Kir", but in my eyes it's a waste in a cocktail.
- 3) Hugo Spritz - slightly sweet drink of German (or Italian, not clear) origin - you'll need, similarly to the Aperol spritz, a ballon wine glass, ice, prosecco and soda, but instead of Aperol you add Elderflower sirup - not too much, just one table spoon - and garnish with some mint!
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Prost, Santé and Cin Cin!
PS: All the ingredients in this post were found at an ordinary liquor store.
PPS: Please drink responsibly.
Talk to you soon, J.
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