Rhubarb Spritz

Photo: Gunda Dittrich

June 15, 2018

For this recipe featured in her book, Fruit: Recipes that Celebrate Nature, Chez Panisse veteran and Vienna-based food writer Bernadette Wörndl adds tart rhubarb to create a vibrant spritz. “Capture the spring, boil it up, and turn it into a summer drink,” Wörndl says, and who could argue with that?

Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4

7 oz. rhubarb syrup
1¼ oz. dry vermouth
¾ oz. gin
Cold sparkling water or prosecco

Tools:shaker, strainer
Glass:rocks
Garnish:rhubarb ribbon

Preparation

In a shaker, combine all of the ingredients (except the water or prosecco) with ice and shake well. Strain into 4 ice-filled glasses and top with sparkling water or prosecco to taste. Garnish.

Rhubarb Syrup: Add 100 grams of sugar to a saucepan over low heat, allowing the sugar to slowly melt without stirring. Zest and juice 1 orange, reserving the zest and adding the juice to the pan, stirring to loosen the melted sugar. Add 3½ oz. of water and boil until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup has formed. Reduce heat to a simmer. Split 1 vanilla bean and add it to the syrup along with the orange zest. Then add 500 grams of chopped rhubarb to the syrup, simmering for 3-4 minutes before straining out the solids. Allow the syrup to cool, it will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.