It’s already February, can you believe it?! And the (un)official color of the month is red for LOVE. And the best way to surprise your honey and celebrate your love for each other? Definitely this super easy sangria recipe. I know, sangria seems scary and tough (or maybe that’s just me?), but you will be amazed with how easy and delicious it really is!
I put off making sangria for the longest time because I knew it had to sit for a while, and it can be so hard to plan ahead. Typically, I’ll only open a bottle of wine if we are going to have guests over, otherwise it’ll take me two weeks to finish (unless, of course, it’s been a rough week). The issue is that we generally don’t know we are going to have guests over until, oh, 2 hours before. Just enough time to throw something for dinner together! But definitely not enough time to plan for sangria.
However, I had a friend in town the other day and wanted to have a fun night, so we went to a little produce stand in Avila on the way home from the beach (80+ degrees in January… rough) and bought some fruit for this sangria recipe. I threw it together with just enough time before dinner and let it cool and soak in the fridge until it was time. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I loved it, and I was STOKED I took the time to make it. The best part was that I still had about half of it left, so I tried some the next night (and the next night!) and it kept getting better. After day three it lost some of its luster, so I’d recommend drinking it up within 48 hours.
This is the first Valentine’s day themed recipe I’ve made yet, and I hope there are more to come. I spent ALL last weekend finalizing my new eCookbook, Healthy Weeknight Veg (which is totally free for subscribers!), and have had little time to cook. Here’s to hoping for a new chocolate cookie recipe on Monday – cheers!
EASY SANGRIA
INGREDIENTS
- 2 small tart apples
- ½ pint strawberries
- ½ pint blackberries
- ½ cup blueberries
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 750mL bottle red wine
- ⅓-1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3-4 cups bubbly water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse all the fruit. Core the apple, then cut into very thin (1/8″) wedges. Chop the strawberries into ½” pieces, and slice the line cross-wise into thin (1/8″) wedges. Combine all the fruit in a pitcher.
- Add the orange juice and ⅓ cup maple syrup, then pour the wine over top. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything up – it’s okay if it gets mashed up a bit.
- Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours minimum, preferably overnight. Taste for sweetness, and add more maple syrup if needed.
- When serving, mix equal volumes of wine and bubbly water, then add some of the fruit and a couple ice cubes. If serving it all at once, add 3-4 cups of bubbly water to the pitcher, mix to distribute, and serve immediately.