Pellegrino Artusi was born this day in 1820 and so this post is dedicated to yet another recipe from Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Whether his orange and saffron-flavored Portuguese liqueur ('rosolio di Portogallo') was actually from Portugal is uncertain. Maybe it was Neapolitan because in some parts of the world -like the Balkans, the Middle east & southern Italy- the fruit of the orange tree is named after Portugal.
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| Portuguese merchants transported goods in ships named 'carracks' (Pieter Bruegel the Elder - c. 1558) |
Many of Artusi's 'foreign' recipes were named after the place where the ingredients came from. Others were
named after countries that played a role in shaping Italy's history -like Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland. By the time Artusi wrote his book, the Italian cuisine was largely influenced by French and Spanish/Arabian recipes; culinary exchanges between Italy and Portugal were rare, unlike what happened with Brazil. And even though orange (and saffron) feature in lots of Mediterranean recipes, Artusi's liqueur is not found in Portuguese cookbooks or tourist guides.
PORTUGUESE LIQUEUR (ROSOLIO DI PORTOGALLO) is very simple to make:
1) Place 240ml of 36-proof wine spirits in a glass jar. Add the skin of a large orange, a pinch of saffron, cover the jar opening with paper and screw the lid. 2) Mix 360ml filtered water with 650g caster (or powdered) sugar in another jar, then lid. You will need to shake this one from time to time for the sugar to dissolve completely so it's best to use a tight-fitting jar. 3) Leave both jars in a cool place for three days. 4) On the fourth day, combine the mixtures in a big jar, close tightly and store for eight days. 5) Pass the liquid through a cloth (or strainer), filter, and bottle.
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