With the weather warming up, soon we’ll be attending barbecue’s, outdoor parties and the occasional beach bash. One of my favorite festive beverages has to be the Bellini. Traditional Bellinis are made with Prosecco & peach purée – but don’t let those yummy, fuzzy stone fruits thwart your creativity. Bellinis can be made with any fruit purée – the combinations are endless.
I’ve made a simple, yet super tasty Strawberry Bellini – make this for your next get-together and you’ll impress all of your guests!
INGREDIENTS:
1lb (16oz package) strawberries; hulled & halved
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp Grand Marnier (optional)
1 bottle Prosecco or Champagne, chilled
DIRECTIONS:
To make the strawberry purée, place all strawberries in a bowl; add coconut sugar, lemon juice and Grand Marnier (if desired). Toss together and allow to macerate for 3o minutes, stirring occasionally.
You may ask…What the heck is macerate? Maceration merely means to make soft by soaking in liquid. Here we’re adding minimal liquid, but the sugar helps breakdown the berries along with the acid & its own juices.
After 30 minutes, place the strawberry mixture into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth & no berry chunks are left.
Pour the purée into a large pitcher. Stir in the bottle of Prosecco to combine the bubbly with the purée. Serve immediately!
CHEERS!