How to make Sangria
When we checked our statistics at the end of April, we noticed that there were two keywords that came up regularly for visitors to spanishchef.net. One was for recipes for gazpacho, which we have now covered, and the other for sangria. There are lots of recipes for sangria available on the internet, but this is our version which we use for all our barbecues.
Sangria (Spanish: Sangría) is a wine punch typical of Spain and Portugal. It normally consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy. In the case of fruits, they are chopped or sliced such as orange, lemon, lime, apple, peach, melon, berries, pineapple, grape and mango. A sweetener such as honey, sugar, simple syrup, orange juice is added. Instead of brandy, other liquids such as Seltzer, Sprite or 7 Up may be added – you decide!
Sangria is served throughout Spain and Portugal during summer, and in the southern and eastern parts of the countries year-round. In these places it is a popular drink among tourists at bars, pubs and restaurants where it is often served in 1-litre pitchers or other containers large enough to hold a bottle of wine plus the added ingredients. A lid or other strainer for the container helps prevent the fruit and ice cubes from falling into the glass. Among the Spanish and Portuguese, sangria is most typically served at informal social gatherings, much like punch, from a punchbowl. Sangria is often served with a wooden spoon, used to get fruit out of the bottom of the punchbowl or pitcher. Sangria is also commonly served in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Argentina.
Bottled sangria can be bought in some countries. In the parlance of EU administrators, such products are referred to as “aromatised wines”. Sangria has become popular in the UK, with several supermarkets stocking it during summer months. But nothing compares to your home made version.
The spanishchef version of Sangria
Like all good chefs will tell you, don’t cook with a wine that you would not drink normally. Likewise for your sangria, don’t use a cheap wine that you would not drink and enjoy on it’s own.
For our special sangria, we use a good quality Rioja
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Me cup (55g) caster sugar
3 cups (750ml) orange juice
1/2 cup (125ml) port
10cm thin strip orange rind
3 cups (750ml) light red wine
1/2 cup (125ml) brandy
½ cup orange liqueur
1/2 cup (125ml) gin
1/2 cup (125ml) vermouth
1/3 cup (80ml) grenadine
1 1/2 litres lemonade
1 large orange (300g), quartered, sliced
1 large red apple (200g), quartered, cored, sliced
1 large peach, stoned and sliced
1 Combine spices, sugar, juice, port and rind in medium pan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, strain into a large bowl; cool.
2 Add alcohol, grenadine, lemonade and orange to juice mixture; cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Add apple and peaches just before serving. makes 3.5 litres
You can adapt the recipe to your particular liking by adding different spirits such as vodka or whisky. Why not experiment until you get the right taste for you – if you can still stand at the end of the experiment of course…
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