Summer Cocktail

Nigel Slater's classic Bellini recipe

Here's to a timely cocktail…

Life is sweet: Nigel Slater's Bellini cocktail. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer
It is probably not wise to argue with the recipe from Harry's Bar in Venice, where this summer cocktail first appeared in 1948. The essential white peaches, whose sieved pulp gives the cocktail its fragrance, can be found only in midsummer and autumn.

The recipe

Ideally, push your peaches through a food mill, but you may prefer to blitz them in a food processor. Despite their white flesh the purée will be a pale rose-gold. Put 2 tsp of the purée in the base of each chilled champagne glass then pour over thoroughly chilled, dry Prosecco. You need 2 or 3 peaches per bottle.

The trick

Have your white peaches ripe but refrigerated before you purée them. The choice of glass is up to you. I like a long stem on mine, but a thin tumbler is traditional. Keep everything chilled including the glass – a warm bellini is not worth considering. Use about 3 or 4 parts sparkling wine to one part peach purée. Don't even think of using canned peaches. Bottled peach juice is just about acceptable, but sweeter and less fragrant, and somehow misses the point.

The twist

Swap the peach juice for tangerine, so you can drink it in winter. Use raspberry or strawberry purée, thoroughly sieved, instead of the usual. Add a single drop of orange blossom water to each glass.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/10/nigel-slater-classic-bellini-cocktail