If you have some Prosecco kicking about from Easter, put it to good use with this refreshing Raspberry Rossini, aka one of the best cocktails in town.
Easter has come and gone, and you may have some bottles left unopened, or, the horror, half opened, which means you should probably do something with them as soon as possible. One of the best ways to repurpose Prosecco, is to throw it into a classic Italian cocktail: a Rossini.
Rossinis are probably my favourite cocktail ever. It’s what I order most times when having an aperitivo with my friends in Italy. It’s nice and refreshing and not overly sweet, perfect to enjoy on a warm spring or summer day, alongside a nice appetizer board. Plus, like all Prosecco-based cocktails, Rossinis are very easy to make and do not require any of the fancy cocktail making tools you need for almost every other cocktail.
It’s quite ironic for me, not to own a shaker or a professional strainer as of yet, because, during my time at university, I was part of the cocktail society and went out regularly to Exeter’s most popular bars to attend cocktail master classes. And I don’t like to brag, but I think I got pretty good at them! I have always enjoyed a good cocktail and found great satisfaction out of being able to access the proper recipes and recreating them on my own. But after leaving uni, life got in the way. I moved out, started looking for jobs, and with all the things you have to buy when you move into a new flat, shakers and tumblers weren’t really the priority. I am definitely going to rectify this, as summer is approaching fast, but, as of today, I have very limited cocktail-making tools. So a Prosecco cocktail is probably the best option out there.
Traditionally, Rossinis are made with strawberries, which is delicious enough. But I do love a raspberry here and there. For this reason, I did not cut the strawberries out, but rather, I mixed them with a handful of raspberries and the result was AMAZING. I feel like the raspberries give this cocktail more depth of flavour with very little effort. But if you don’t have any raspberries on hand you can simply double the amount of strawberries and stick to the traditional recipe. Also, because of the aforementioned lack of proper cocktail “utensils,” I simply blitzed the raspberries and strawberries in a food processor. Apparently, the real, original recipe requires you to smash the strawberries by hand with a pestle and mortar, because blending them will result in a more watery consistency. But who has time for that? And, also, who has got a mortar and pestle at home, if you don’t even own a shaker? Lucky for me, I realised that many of my fellow Italians are bending the rules and are resorting to immersion blenders, nutribullets and standard blenders to make their Rossinis. So, as long as you have one of these, you will be alright.
Many people use a fine sieve to separate the fruit pulp from the seeds, resulting in a smoother cocktail. I sometimes do it, and will include this passage in the recipe. However, more often than not, I find myself skipping this. I quite like finding some strawberry seeds in my drink, because it gives it a more homemade and fresh kinda feel to it, which I quite like. It’s just personal preference. So if you are like me, just know that you can opt out of the sieve situation.
For what concerns sweetness, the ball is once again in your court. Unlike many other cocktails, Prosecco-based drinks are not overly sweet. So you shouldn’t overdo it with the sugar. If your berries are already quite sweet, you can avoid adding any sugar to your cocktail altogether. If instead, your fruit is still a bit acidic, or if you simply like it sweeter, you can do one of the following: simply add some sugar, make the sugar syrup from my berry sorbet recipe, or, the way I normally do it, mix 1 tbsp of sugar with 4 tbsp of water. Just be careful not to add too much of it and always taste-test as you go.
So there you have it, the Rossini cocktail. As you can see, this is a pretty easy cocktail. But what I like most about it is that, despite being so easy, it looks so classy and elegant! I love serving it in champagne flutes, with a raspberry and / or a strawberry on top. So fancy!
Ingredients:
Makes 2 cocktails
Prosecco (preferably brut)
12 strawberries + 2 for garnishing
12 raspberries + 2 for garnishing
1 squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
Water
Method:
To a jug, pour about 1 ½ champagne glass worth of Prosecco and set it aside in the fridge.
Wash your berries and remove the stalks from the strawberries. Add them to a food processor or blender along with a squeeze of lemon.
If adding sugar, mix 1 tbsp sugar with about 4 tbsp water and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add the sugar mixture to the fruit.
Blend until you get a smooth consistency. If you want, you can pass the pureed berries through a fine sieve to get rid of the strawberry seeds.
Once you have done that, simply add the berry puree to the Prosecco jug and mix well until fully combined. Pour the Rossini into each champagne glass and add a strawberry and a raspberry to each glass as garnishing.
Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? Have you got any questions? We would love to hear from you! Let us know by leaving a comment below! Xx