farmers’ market cocktails

I’ve been visiting Rome’s markets this week with my friend Evan while she’s in town. Yesterday, after a huge Sunday lunch at Perilli’s we swung by the farmers’ market on Via San Teodoro. The market is open every Saturday and Sunday, and we arrived about 3:30 on Sunday. It’s safe to say the market at that hour looked a bit like all my friends I ran into there. Kind of tired after all their Saturday partying.

Some of my favorite stands had even closed already, and the ones that were open were out of almost everything. I think that’s a good thing. I’m glad the farmers are doing so well, and happy to see they are selling out each week.
And to tell the truth, after a mega lunch at Perilli involving insane quantities of carbonara and pork roast, I wasn’t even in a state of mind to buy much actual food. But seeing all my slightly hung over friends wandering around did remind me of something: cocktails. And since I hadn’t had any wine with lunch at Perillis I knew I’d be ready to mix something up later on, even if dinner was going to be just a salad.

Luckily the small stand selling artisan fruit juices was fully stocked. I loaded up on red currant, raspberry and black grape.

Sundays’ cocktail du jour: Red Currant Cosmo



Red Currant Cosmo

2 oz of vodka
1/2 oz cointreau
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
1/3 cup farmer’s market red current juice

Pour vodka, cointreau and pomegranate molasses in a glass. Whisk until the molasses breaks up and blends in. Add lemon juice and current juice. Stir and fill glass with ice.

Black Grape Juice Spritzer

2 oz of Nonino UE Grape Distillate (or other high quality grappa or aquavite)
1/2 oz fresh meyer lemon juice
1/3 cup farmer’s market black grape juice
soda water

Pour vodka, grappa and lemon juice in glass. Mix. Fill with ice, and top up with soda water.