I had never tried fresh lychee before I bought these. I thought I didn’t like them because the ones I had tried out of a tin tasted, well like tin, and syrup. Not a good combination.
So I bought these because they were cheap mainly and because The Washer Up kept trying to persuade me that they were lovely. And he was right. I don’t think I’ve ever said that before, that he was right I mean. He will be pleased.
It turns out that underneath that pink prehistoric armoured shell there is a delicately perfumed, lightly floral tasting, opalescent jewel of a fruit that is elegant, cool, sweet and delicious. Nothing at all like tin, which is nice.
I was going to make Lychee Martinis as that seems to be the lychee cocktail of choice but I saw Jamie Oliver doing Venice the other day and he was explaining the history of the Bellini that was invented in Harry’s Bar in Venice (something to do with the delicate peach colour resembling the golden glow in Bellini’s paintings) and he showed how to make an authentic one.
He used white peaches with their red skins still on (to get the light peachy colour) and he crushed the whole thing in his hand through a sieve into a jug. He then mixed the pulp with Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) and poured it into the glass.
I tried to crush a lychee through a sieve, (there’s a first time for everything) but it didn’t work so I just pureed the fruits (without the seeds) with a stick blender. The puree is a milky white froth that I poured into the bottom of each glass and I topped it up with pink rose cava (Spanish sparkling wine) because I wanted it to echo the beautiful colour of the lychee skins. You could use normal sparkling instead for a more frosty effect.
Salud!!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Lovely! And I like how you got the resulting drink to be pink, like the lychee peels, even though the fruit itself is white. I absolutely love fresh lychees. Lychee drinks with boba were my favorite treat in SE Asia.
Beautiful! I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh lychees, either, and that’s a shame. As a side note, I absolutely adore your champagne flutes.
I’m gonna def try this, it’ll be my first drink when I’m off the wagon in October xx
Are you not drinking till after the marathon then? Respect!
Pretty.
This is sooo pretty!! I love this drink and will try it out on my girlfriends!
Good golly Miss Molly that’s pretty! I think I need to invent an occasion for such a drink! Beautiful, lovely and utterly feminine. Love it!
Beautiful glasses, plate, linen. The colors are lovely. Thanks for the lychee introduction.
Now you’re talking guapitita! I too had only had tinned, we probably are guilty of that crime (your Mother and I ). Only you could turn a minus into a plus and then into a cocktail…..must be genetic dahling.
Sounds lush. Are you buying the fresh Lychee here in the markets? or in the Supermarket?
Euromarket in Fuengirola!
That’s sexy and you know it! Oh yes, I just did that.
elegant! I think the pink rose cava set them off beautifully and your beautiful flutes.
Love this ballet-pink drink! Strangely I have had plenty of fresh lychees but never the tinned kind. Doesn’t sound like I should bother with the tinned now… The perfume from a freshly peeled lychee is rather intoxicating, isn’t it? I bet the taste in this drink is equally intoxicating. Btw, I always thought the prehistoric skin looked like titchy little armadillos!
I’ve never tried fresh lychee, and this certainly looks like a good way to start. These would be wonderful for a garden party (and I imagine just as good imbibed indoors).
The best fruit!
I absolutely adore lychees! At the peak of their (very short) season here in Thailand, we get enormous ones…it’s just great. I love the idea of a bellini with them!
Lychees are so tasty. The cocktail looks excellent.
Best,
Conor