Summer seems like a both million years ago and about about a million years away… but luckily there are ways in which you can bring the spirit of Summer to these chilly nights, thanks to both Aperol and Polpo.
Aperol Spritz teamed up with Venetian Restaurant Polpo in the Autumn to create five easy to follow recipes videos. These super easy and delicious #SpritzSuppers are the PERFECT complement to an Aperol Spritz (one of my new favourite drinks) and are ideal for entertaining.
Polpo is famous for its beautiful Mediterranean flavour combinations which make you forget that the winds are howling outside and instead make you feel like you’re on an Italian roof terrace with the sun beating down on you! They’re also utterly delicious, and incredibly easy to recreate, as I learnt last week when I tried a few out for myself!
The delicious Fig & Prosciutto crostini from Polpo’s exquisite Autumnal menu is the first recipe I tried out for myself. Following the incredibly easy video recipe guides I was able to recreate it almost perfectly (though I did substitute a few ingredients based on my own flavour preferences, including substituting the baguette for a panini)
I love the flavours of this quick and easy dish. The proscuitto gives a salty, succulent hit which is mellowed out by the creamy ricotta cheese. I adore figs and loved the sweetness that married all the flavours together. I made these dishes for my solo dinner (strong independent woman living alone) and found that the flavours on this were the most harmonious.
For the ingredients list and full recipe, click here.
The second dish I tried out was the Crushed Green Olive & Parmesan Crostini – big tip here: do not use cheap green olives. It definitely hinders the taste quality of the dish. Make sure the ones you use are super green and fresh. From a jar is not the one!
As a result this dish was nowhere near as good, though you can definitely see it has potential when the good quality ingredients are used. It’s a very simple dish though, and certainly goes perfectly with an Aperol Spritz, not least because it’s quite a salty dish with the use of olives and parmesan.
The full ingredient list and recipe can be found right here.
And finally I decided to try out the Zucchini, Basil and Parmesan salad. There isn’t a recipe for this one, rather I created my own using the instructional recipe video which was super easy to follow, though without knowing exactly how much lemon juice to use, I went a little crazy and made it far too sharp! I evened that out with extra parmesan and olive oil.
The salad I used was actually kale (they were the greens I had at the time) and it actually worked really nicely, and luckily I had been able to track down courgettes despite the #CourgetteCrisis currently sweeping through the super markets (Ocado for the win!). It was a fresh and zingy salad and a lovely side to what was my main dinner of the crostinis.
Of course, this entire meal would not have been complete without an Aperol Spritz. This is Italy’s most popular aperatif and is gradually beginning to overtake the likes of Pimm’s as the UK’s go-to Summer tipple. Luckily it’s just as simple to make as a Pimm’s cup (without the faff of chopping up loads of fruit) and the beautiful orange colour makes it super Insta-friendly!
You just need to remember the classic 3-2-1 recipe…
So while Summer may seem like a life-time away, we now don’t need to wait to get that delicious Summer taste. And if you don’t want to make these #SpritzSuppers at home yourself (even though i’ve proven even an idiot can do it!) you can always pay a visit to one of the wonderful restaurants in the Polpo group where a few of these dishes are still available, and the classic Aperol Spritz will always be on the menu.
#ItStartsNow.
