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Recipe: frosé, two ways

It’s been too hot to cook. Normally in the mountains, we can cool down nicely in the evenings by opening up the house and running the fan (we don’t have air conditioning). But the heat and the height of pine pollen season have conspired to keep us holed up in the house while thick yellow plant sex covers the world around us. I am very allergic to the pine pollen, but this year it seems to be affecting those who haven’t experienced these allergies before. What we desire is a good rainstorm, because it washes away the pollen and cools everything down, but all we’ve been getting are teases and nary a drop of water from the sky reaching the ground.

storm clouds and virga with a rainbow in the bottom left at sunset

the winds kick up pollen storms in our valley

lovely clouds at sunset, but still no rain

I think we may have hit peak pollen yesterday, which means relief is on its way. Even so, it’s still hot as blazes and I couldn’t bring myself to blog about anything other than this frozen amazingness that I finally tried last week. If you are even remotely aware of food trends, you’ve heard of frosé and you know that it was all the rage two years ago. I’m always late to the food fad game, partly due to skepticism and partly because I just can’t get my act together soon enough to join the party. So for those of you who were completely unaware of the frosé revolution, I’m here to tell you to stock up on rosé this summer.

I’ve tried two variations that we (all of the lucky taste testers) like: classic and fruity. They have nearly identical ingredients, but one incorporates the fruit (fruity) and one merely uses the fruit to flavor the syrup (classic). I made a half batch of each “in case it didn’t taste good.” Silly me! Be sure to use a bold rosé – rosé of Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Malbec. And don’t break the bank on a super spendy bottle because you’re adding all sorts of ingredients and freezing the stuff – go for the cheaper bottles.

classic: strawberries, lemon, water, sugar, rosé

lemon juice, water, sugar, rosé, hulled and chopped strawberries

boil the water and sugar to make simple syrup

steep the strawberries in the syrup

After much research on various frosé recipes which call for freezing the rosé (not in the bottle, please) and blendering everything together, I found a faster solution by Food & Wine: use your ice cream machine. Brilliant.

strain the berries out (enjoy them on pancakes, cake, ice cream)

add the lemon juice and rosé to the cooled syrup

pour the mixture into your ice cream machine

churn until slushy (about 20 minutes)

What you get is a gorgeously cotton candy pink, refreshing, and sophisticated frozen adult treat. The wine is up front when you taste it, but it is tamed by the sweet and cold and carries undertones of red fruit. Classiest slurpee I’ve ever had.

classic frosé: load up some coupes!

The fruity frosé is like the classic version, except the strawberries stay in the mix. While I prefer to use the ice cream machine method, I made this batch using the blender for those of you who don’t own an ice cream machine. That means freezing the rosé and the berries ahead of time. If you pour the rosé into a wide, flat vessel, it will freeze faster than if you pour it in a tall and narrow vessel. Of course, it never truly freezes through because of the alcohol, but it gets close enough in a few hours. I slice my strawberries and lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or so.

fruity: water, sugar, strawberries, lemon, rosé

pour the rosé into a large vessel to freeze

simple syrup, lemon juice, frozen berries, frozen rosé

put it all in the blender and give it a blitz

I have since made another batch (or batches… we have lost count) using the ice cream machine. I simply blender the strawberries, lemon juice, and simple syrup together until smooth, then pour it into the ice cream machine with chilled (no need to be frozen) rosé. Works like a charm.

How do we like the fruity frosé? We like it very much! This is probably our favorite version. You taste the fruit and sweet first and then the rosé builds and lingers in the back of your mouth. Fruity frosé is easy to slurp down before realizing how much you’ve had to drink, so keep that in mind when serving to others (or yourself). We like both versions for entertaining. Fruity feels more casual and can be enjoyed solo. Classic would be great with some appetizers. And if you want to make a batch or seven ahead of time, just freeze either frosé until you are ready to serve. It remains slushy and easily scoopable in the freezer, which is perfect for summer parties.

fruity frosé

Frosé, two ways
[print recipe]
from Bon Appétit and Food52 and technique tip from Food & Wine

classic frosé
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
8 oz. strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 bottle (750 ml) bold rosé (rosé of Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Malbec), chilled
2 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let come to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the strawberries to the pan, cover with a lid, and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the syrup through a sieve without pressing the berries (you can use the berries on ice cream or cake or waffles) and let cool completely. Pour the rosé, strawberry syrup, and lemon juice into an ice cream machine and let churn for 20 to 30 minutes until it is all slush and no liquid. Serve immediately or freeze (it will remain pretty soft due to the alcohol). Serves 4-6.

*Alternatively, if you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can pour the rosé into a large shallow vessel and freeze it (about 4-6 hours). Make the strawberry syrup as listed above, then place everything in a blender and blitz it until smooth. The original recipe says to add a cup of ice, but we prefer not to dilute the frosé.

fruity frosé
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
8 oz. strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 oz. lemon juice
1 bottle (750 ml) bold rosé (rosé of Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Malbec), chilled

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let come to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Pour the simple syrup, strawberries, and lemon juice into a blender and purée until smooth. Pour the purée and the rosé into an ice cream machine and let churn for 20 to 30 minutes until it is all slush and no liquid. Serve immediately or freeze (it will remain pretty soft due to the alcohol). Serves 4-6.

*Alternatively, if you don’t have an ice cream machine, you can pour the rosé into a large shallow vessel and freeze it (about 4-6 hours). Lay the strawberries out in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet and freeze (about 1-2 hours). Make the simple syrup as instructed above. Place the frozen rosé, frozen strawberries, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a blender and blitz it until smooth.

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June 10th, 2018: 10:25 pm
filed under beverage, booze, entertaining, frozen, fruit, gluten-free, recipes, sweet, wine