Making cocktails can be wasteful, so today we’ll try to learn to waste nothing (works for a professional or home bar). As I’ve done with the Rhubarb cocktail last year, I’m again trying to be as sustainable as possible - here I made a Macaron cocktail with a strawberry shrub and ricotta-washed Lillet Blanc. Being sustainable and learning how to waste nothing in mixology can be such a fun thing! A lot of times we can re-use perfectly fine ingredients that we often throw away, creating just a little less waste and helping mother nature in the process. This Valentine’s-themed cocktail is a low ABV drink that you can enjoy any time. It has a ricotta cheese-washed Lillet Blanc that adds subtle savouriness, a strawberry shrub that has a long shelf life and it tastes amazing, last but certainly not least, a dessert from all the ingredients left after making the drink - macaron. Perfect for your Valentine, while being conscious of our planet as well.
Don’t Waste my Love:
● 60 ml (2 oz) ricotta washed Lillet*
● 30 ml strawberry shrub*
● 3 dashes Campari
● top-up soda water
● macaron garnish
Build the cocktail in a high tumbler or a Collins glass. Gently stir to mix and garnish with a strawberry-chocolate filled macron.
* Ricotta-Washed Lillet Blanc:
● 200 ml (6.75 oz) Lillet Blanc
● 60 g ricotta cheese
Mix together in an airtight bowl and leave to infuse and settle for 24h in a fridge. After that strain it through a coffee filter (refilter the first few drops that will be cloudy). Don’t forget to save the ricotta on the filter for macaron filling.
*Strawberry Shrub:
● 125 g strawberries
● 100 g sugar
● 150 ml (5 oz) apple cider vinegar
Wash the strawberries and cut off the green tops. Cut strawberries in small pieces and mix with sugar. Infuse all the green tops in vinegar and leave both to “infuse” for 24 hours. After that you will get strawberry “oleo saccharum” syrup and slightly infused vinegar. Strain the strawberries on a muslin cloth (squeeze to get all the syrup), then strain the vinegar through a fine mesh strainer. Mix both liquids to get the strawberry shrub. Save the strawberry pulp that has been in the sugar for the Macaron filling. Bottle the shrub - stored in a fridge can be kept for at least one year.
Macaron Filling:
● Leftover ricotta
● Leftover strawberries
● 50 ml (1.66 oz) strawberry shrub
● 100 g white chocolate
● pinch of salt or saline solution
Completely blend the leftover strawberries with the strawberry shrub to get a nice puree. Put the leftover ricotta (filtered from the Lillet) into a pan and heat to boiling point. Then remove from heat and add chocolate and salt. Stir well so the chocolate melts. Mix in the strawberry puree and place in a bowl with a wide airtight lid or a reusable bag for decorating cakes. Leave it in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours (to settle and harden a bit) before you start to fill the macarons.