White port and tonic
Portugal's answer to the gin and tonic, and arguably the better one. Three things, two minutes.
At a Glance
Story
White port is port's overlooked pale sibling, made from white grapes and drunk young and cold as an aperitivo all over Portugal, where the ruby and tawny bottles get all the attention abroad. Poured one part port to two parts tonic, it is the standard Porto afternoon in a glass, light, faintly fruity and bitter in all the right places. You almost never see it outside Portugal, which is precisely why you should be pouring it.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz white port
- 3 oz tonic waterQ Tonic for elegant, Canada Dry for lively
- 1 lime or lemon wedge
- icefor the glass
Method
The most civilised drink for the least possible effort. Keep the ratio at one to two and do not drown it, too much tonic and the gentle port simply vanishes under the fizz.
- Fill a tumbler with ice, the more the better, since more ice melts slower and keeps the drink cold rather than watery.
- Pour in the white port, top with the tonic and give it one brief stir. Squeeze a wedge of lime or lemon over the top and drop it in. Lime makes it livelier, lemon makes it more harmonious, and on a hot afternoon you will want to have tried both before the sun goes down.
For a crowd
Never batch this in a pitcher, the tonic goes flat and takes the whole point with it. Set up a station instead, the white port and a bowl of citrus out, tonic on ice and glasses at the ready, and let guests pour one part port to two parts tonic themselves. The only real prep is chilling everything hard beforehand.
More to cook
Crisp rice cakes and sausage in a ketchup glaze
Rice cakes fried until they crackle, then lacquered in ketchup and miso with the sausage.
A full course of Italian penicillin
Chicken soup's glamorous Italian cousin, with a spicy crumb and a cold lemon dollop.
Harissa shrimp broiled over a tray of greens
The greens go in first with half a cup of water, and the shrimp only arrive once the broiler takes over.
Salt and pepper dumplings straight from the freezer
Frozen potstickers and green beans, tossed at the last second in salt, sugar and more black pepper than seems wise.
Garlic noodles the way San Francisco does them
Two heads of garlic, plenty of butter and three bottles from the cupboard, done in the time it takes to boil the pasta.
Shrimp over creamed corn, and rather a lot of feta
Corn simmered soft in cream and butter, then blitzed until chunky and used the way you would use grits.
Creamy lemon spaghetti with a Sichuan pepper buzz
Crème fraîche, miso and lemon make the sauce, and toasted Sichuan peppercorns go in twice so your lips hum.
Chicken sausage and lemon, baked as a lasagna
A lasagna that went on holiday and came back with a tan and a lemon habit.
Pumpkin pasta with sausage and crisp sage
Tinned pumpkin, Gruyère and a sheet pan to crisp the lot.
Sausage lasagna spread thin for the crust
Lasagna with no layers, baked flat on a sheet pan, and an insult to nonnas everywhere.
Vodka rigatoni, baked till the tops crackle
Vodka sauce given a sheet pan, a jar of Calabrian chilis and a honey drizzle it did nothing to deserve.
Charred corn and halloumi panzanella with chili crisp
One bowl, mostly made in the morning, so the cook can sit down with the guests.
Chicken and zucchini meatballs under a feta sauce
Half the meatball is grated zucchini, which is the only reason a chicken meatball has any business being this juicy.
Dan dan noodles, served cold on purpose
The sesame and chile sauce is bossy enough to work as a dressing, so the noodles never need to be hot.
Zucchini parmesan, roasted not fried
All the comfort of the fried original, a fraction of the oil, and no pan spitting at you.