Recipe: Orange and Campari Jelly

Apéritif: noun, plural apéritifs

1. a small drink of alcoholic liquor taken to stimulate the appetite before a meal.

Campari is quite a polarising beverage. I find people either love it or they’re deterred by its bitterness. And although it’s frequently served with soda, many people tend to mix it with citrus juice as a way of mellowing the flavour. Actually, my friends and I often mix it with dry ginger ale – which is refreshing on a warm day.

A few years ago I was given the recipe for a traditional Sicilian Blood Orange Jelly. Which to date has been one of my favorites, particularly for its simplicity. But this summer I wanted to breathe new life into this traditional gem and give it a little revamp for the year ahead.

So what better place to start than with a good swig of Campari? Here is my resulting Orange and Campari Jelly.

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Recipe: Orange and Campari Jelly

Ingredients

Jelly

• 450 ml fresh squeezed orange juice (approximately 6 oranges)
• 50 ml Campari
• 50g caster sugar
• 5 x gelatin sheets
• Oil to lightly grease moulds

Spiced Strawberries

• 1 x punnet strawberries (sliced into quarters)
• 2 x tsp caster sugar
• 1 x star anise
• 1 x tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 x pinch ground cloves
• 1 x tsp pink peppercorns
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 30 ml Campari

To Serve

• Fresh mint from the garden

Instructions

Jelly

1. Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes
2. Juice oranges
3. Add Campari to the juice (I love the transition of colour)
4. Place the orange juice mixture and sugar into a pan, warm gently
5. Remove gelatine leaves from cold water, squeeze out any excess liquid and add to the pot
6. Keep on medium heat. Stir continuously until both gelatine and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat
7. Lightly oil the inside of your chosen moulds
8. Strain mixture directly into moulds
9. Refrigerate for several hours or until set

Spiced Strawberries

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl; gently fold strawberries through marinade before refrigerating. Allow at least 1-2 hours for the fruit to macerate and flavours infuse.

To serve

1. Dip moulds into hot water for 5-10 seconds or until jelly loosens (if you’re having difficulty, gently run a flat edged knife around the periphery of the mould to assist with loosening the jelly)
2. Invert onto plate for service
3. Place a heaped tablespoon of spiced strawberries on top allowing the delicious syrup to run down the sides
4. Garnish with freshly torn mint

Extra notes

1. Try substituting the Campari with Aperol or lemon juice or try blood oranges in lieu of Navel – the possibilities are endless. And the same goes when macerating the strawberries – I’ve previously used Grand Marnier, Blackberry Liquor and Cointreau - so be creative!
2. I chose to use one larger mould for setting my jelly however you could quite easily use small individual moulds. Alternatively allow the jelly to set in a cocktail glass from which you can serve the dessert.

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