Prickly Pear Ratafià

          Ingredients:

1 liter of alcohol at 95º

10 well ripe prickly pears

2 ½ cups of sugar

1/2 liter of water

Peel and prickly pears.

Use gloves, because they have invisible thorns, very painful for your fingers!

Crush the fruits and put with the alcohol in an airtight jar.

Let soak for 2 weeks in a dark place.

Shake from time to time.

Make a syrup with the sugar and the water.

If you prefer a less alcoholic ratafià make the syrup with 3/4 of liter of water and 3 cups of sugar.

Filter the alcohol and add the syrup.

Bottle and let it rest for other 2 weeks.

Serve chilled.

Prickly Pear Ratafià is a traditional Sicilian liqueur.                                                                                                                              
Prickly pears could be green, red, yellow or violet.                                                                                                                             
Use the red or the violet prickly pears to obtain a fully colored liqueur.

Shake 2 parts of Prickly Pear Ratafià, 1 part of White Rum, 2 part of almond milk and pour in a glass half filled with crushed ice.

BASIL LIQUEUR

Ingredients:

80 basil leaves

1 liter alcohol 95°

3 ½ cups of sugar

1 liters water

Wash and dry 80 basil leaves.

Put them and the alcohol in an airtight jar

Let soak for 8 days.

Make a syrup with the sugar and the water.

Add the syrup to the alcohol.

Let rest for 15 days.

Serve chilled.

Shake 1 part of Basil Liqueur and 1 part of Limoncello.                                                                                                               
Pour over ice in a frozen Martini glass.

For 1 serving: crush in a mortar 6 ice cubes, 6 basil leaves, a lime zest and 2 teaspoon of brown sugar. Put the ice in a large glass and pour on it 2 parts of Basil Liqueur, 1 part of Rum and a splash of lime juice.                                                                                            
Stir and garnish with a basil sprig.

Mix 2 parts of vodka, 4 part of tomato juice, 1 part of Basil Liqueur and a splash of lemon juice.                                         
Pour over ice and garnish with a basil sprig.

Champagne and Flower Rosolio Jelly

NEW! Not in the Book!

 Ingredients:

½ liter of wine
½ liter of any Flower Rosolio (flowers liqueur)
12 gelatin sheets
Blossoms freshly picked flowers

We want to obtain a bicolor jelly, so we should use Champagne (or a sweet white wine) and a red Rosolio (Rose or Violet Rosolio) or a sweet red wine and a white Rosolio (for example Jasmine Rosolio; you can find the recipe in this blog at http://italianliqueurs.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/jasmine-rosolio.html).

Soak 6 gelatin sheets in cold water, then put in a pot with a spoon of water and let dissolve the sheets.
Turn off the stove, add the Flower Rosolio and stir until it is well mixed.

Pour the liquid in Martini glasses, filling a little less than half of the glass.
Put in the fridge for 3 hours.

Put a flower blossom in each glass. Insert the base of the blossom in the jelly, such that it doesn’t bend to the side.

With the same procedure prepare the wine jelly and gently pour into the glasses to the brim.
Put in the fridge for 3 hours.

The result will be elegant and delicious!

GELO DI MELLONE (WATERMELON PUDDING) (Typical Sicilian recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 ½  liters of watermelon juice
• 3 ½ tbsp of  jasmine petals
• 1 glass of water
• 1 cup of wheat starch
• 1 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 liter of Watermelon Liqueur
• teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ½ tbsp of candied pumpkin
• 3 ½ tbsp of crushed pistachios
• 10 tbsp of coarsely crushed dark chocolate

To obtain 2 ½ liters of watermelon juice blend 7 - 9 lb of watermelon in the mixer, then sieve and filter the smashed pulp.

Put the jasmine petals in a glass of water and let soak for a day.

Filter the water.

Put the watermelon juice, the wheat starch, the sugar and the jasmine flavored water.

Boil 2-5 minutes, stirring, until it's creamy.

Remove from heat.

Add the Watermelon Liqueur, the vanilla extract and the candied pumpkin in little pieces.

Mix thoroughly and pour in dessert cups.

Let cool in the fridge.

Sprinkle with the pistachios and the chocolate.

 

Jasmine Rosolio

Ingredients:

200 jasmine blossoms

1 liter of alcohol at 95º

3 ½  cups of sugar

¾ liter of water

Put the blossom and the alcohol in an airtight jar. 

Let soak 15 days. 

Make a syrup with the sugar and the water. 

Filter the alcohol and add the syrup. 

After a week, filter again, bottle and let rest for another month before serving.  

Mix 2 parts of Jasmine Rosolio, 1 part of vodka and 3 parts of watermelon juice.

Pour over ice in a large glass. 

Let float 3-4 jasmine blossoms on the surface