It’s time to appreciate vermouth’s versatility. Your Martinis and Manhattans, Rob Roys, and Gibsons shouldn’t hog all the attention.
If your bottle of sweet or dry vermouth is on its last legs, you might consider an alternative application. The clean, herbal aromatics of dry vermouth make it a natural in pan sauces and dishes using fresh herbs, and richly spiced sweet vermouth delights in jams and desserts.
Also, check out 10 Best Vermouths to Mix Into Cocktails or Sip Straight
Give the mixing glass the day off and start stirring vermouth into surprising new dishes.
1. Fig Jam with Rosemary & Vermouth
Your cheese plate just met its ideal mate. This gooey garnet jam contains a small bushel’s worth of fresh figs, which are macerated in sugar and lemon juice. Following a simmer with dry vermouth and rosemary sprigs, the figs melt into a sticky herbal spread that’s equally at home slathered on grilled cheese or stirred into cocktails.
2. Lobster Spaghetti Santorini-Style
Need an excuse to splurge on lobster? That near-empty bottle of sweet vermouth might go bad soon. Clearly, you need to use that last third of a cup in the most indulgent dinner option possible. Channel the Greek Isles by steaming lobsters and brewing up a buttery sweet vermouth sauce spiced with paprika, cloves, and red pepper flakes.
3. Negroni Poached Pears
Kelly NeilPrep your pears for the infusion of a lifetime. You’ve heard of wine-poached pears, right? Take that concept further by simmering peeled Bosc pears in a blend of Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth. What emerges from that bitter orange bath? A stunning dessert course of tender spiked fruit, best served with the reserved Negroni syrup and whipped cream.
