Red Mirto, Sardinia's favorite tipple |
We've all got them, and we all forget about them. Until the end of that fabulous dinner party that is when, after a few too many glasses of wine, some misguided impulse compels you to delve around in the back of that cupboard, blow the dust off a couple of bottles and force a few of glasses on your bemused guests. Invariably, as you fumble for the aspirin the next morning, you swear to clear that cupboard out once and for all and tip the lot down the sink... but you never quite get round to it.
But why? Why, when we're normally so careful with the pennies do we find ourselves with hundreds of pounds worth of perfectly good alcohol that we never touch?
Personally, I think that liqueurs are so inextricably linked to the cultures and environments that produced them that they're never quite the same tasted out of context.
Myrtle berries on the bush, ready to be made into mirto |
The last 20 years have seen programmes started to selectively breed some of the 40 wild varieties of myrtle in order to improve and standardise yields, specifically with the production of mirto in mind, but the tipple's origins are truly ancient. Both the red and less common white varieties of the liqueur have been produced here for hundreds of years.
Mirto rosso (red mirto) is made from the crushed berries whilst mirto bianco (white mirto) is made from the leaves. The processes for making both are similar, seeing the berry or leaf pulp steeped in alcohol (usually grape spirit) for around two months. The resulting liquid is then filtered, mixed with sugar syrup and bottled at 30-35% alcohol.
I can't count the number of times I've sat in the departure lounge at Cagliari airport watching departing tourists in the gift shops. Already nostalgic for long dinners under lemon trees, perfectly cooked roast suckling pig and the scent of citronella candles drifting in the warm dusk air, they pick up a bottle of this fabulous liqueur as a reminder, hoping to recapture the magic of those perfect meals back home. It never has quite the same effect though when tasted in the dining room somewhere in London, and we already know it'll end up gathering dust along with those other sad relics of holidays past.
No! Mirto is too good a tipple to waste, so we've come up with a couple of recipes guaranteed to transport you back (gastronomically speaking) to Sardinia and conjure up a little of that mirto magic on a rainy day.
Sardinian TiramisĂș
Ingredients:- 500g ricotta
- 250g icing sugar
- 150ml white mirto
- 400ml water
- 40 ladyfinger biscuits
- A little cocoa powder
When thoroughly blended, whisk in three dessert spoons of mirto to get a smooth, creamy mix (if needed, blend in a few drops of milk)
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining mirto and the water
Dip the ladyfingers in the water and mirto mix, allowing them to soak up the liquid without getting too soggy
Cover the base of a high-sided serving platter with a tin layer of ricotta, then lay some of the ladyfingers on top.
Carry on alternating layers of ladyfingers with ricotta mixture until both have been used up (finish up with a layer of the ricotta)
Refrigerate for at least two hours, dust with a layer of cocoa and serve
Mirto Martini
Ingredients:- 4 parts orange vodka
- 3 parts mirto
- 3 parts fresh lime juice
- 2 parts Cointreau
- 1 part simple sugar syrup
Strain into a chilled martini glass and, if desired garnish with a few fresh blueberries
We'd love to hear what you think of these recipes, and let us know if you have any other tried and tested ways of using up leftover mirto!
www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk