Vin d’ Orange

A few weeks ago I got married. (Yay!) For my Hens Party I decided to have a ladies lunch, good company good food and a nice afternoon in the sun. The weather pulled through and it was a wonderful day. I had seen in a few cookbooks and online and aperitif called Vin d’ Orange and thought it would be perfect for my ladies lunch. This recipe takes a bit of forethought as you leave it for 40 days but  it makes plenty! You can of course cut the recipe back and make as much as you like. I used a mix of Blood orange and Navel but you can do whatever split you like. Traditionally you would use Seville Oranges.  I couldn’t help adding some Campari for an extra bitter hit.

I ended up adapting this recipe here

Vin d’ Orange

Makes about 8 Litres                                                                                    

7 bottles of Rosé

1 litre of vodka

750g to  1kg organic cane sugar

2 vanilla beans

2 cinnamon quill

6 Navel oranges – thinly sliced

8 blood oranges – thinly sliced

1 Meyer lemon – thinly sliced

Half a bottle or more of Campari to taste

Place all the ingredients together in a large clean bucket or glass jar with a fitted lid. Stir to dissolve sugar.  Cover and leave in a cool place for 40 days.

After 40 or so days, strain the liquid through a coffee filter or a piece of muslin. You don’t have to do this step but it makes for a beautiful clear liquid. Pour into sterilised bottles and keep in the fridge for up to a year.

Serve straight with plenty of ice or topped up with soda. Perfect for a hot day.

There are plenty of things to do with the orange slices too… Marmalade for one or dip them in sugar syrup and dehydrate them and then dip them in dark chocolate. My mother in law this this one and they were delish! Yum! I ended up cooking them slowly in sugar syrup covered in the oven for 1-2 hours and serving them with a Valrhona chocolate tart and whipped cream. They were also delicious in croissants!