The original sangria is this: good red wine, spiced with lemon juice, served with a piece of lemon over ice, with a splash of soda. That sangria has become more complicated, and a cliché of America’s Spanish restaurants, does not detract from its basic appeal; it’s as good a way as exists to spice up insipid red wine. Of course, the better the wine you start with, the better the sangria; decent but inexpensive (red) Zinfandel, wine from the south of France, and Rioja are all good.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1
/4 cup Sugar Syrup (page 660)
One 750-ml bottle fruity, full-bodied red wine
3
tablespoons cognac, brandy, or Grand Marnier, optional
Juice of 1 lemon
1
orange, sliced
1
lemon, sliced
1
apple, sliced
1
peach, sliced
Sparkling water, optional
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Step 2
Serve with ice cubes and, if you like, sparkling water.
The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.
MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.