Eat & Drink

We love to cook, and we love spirits—so we jumped at the chance to ask celebrity chef Massimo Capra some questions about combining the two. Best of all, we scored a sweet recipe so we can try out our new know-how at home (check it out below!).

1. There are lots of recipes that call for cooking with wine, but can you cook with higher alcohol contents?
   

   Of course! I was making a sauce for the shrimps today, and I put some vermouth in the sauce, but I could have added some vodka as well. As long as you make sure to use less alcohol when it has higher alcohol content, you should be fine. Of course, it’s different when you are cooking with it because some of the alcohol will cook off, but it’s still good to think “less is more” with things like vodka.

2. Does marinating with alcohol dry out the food?
   

   No. What dries it out is salt in a marinade. So when you make a marinade, you have to stay away from salt. Because that’s really what extracts all the water from the food you’re cooking. But when you make a simple marinade all you need is really just a liquid — it could be a vermouth or a white wine or a little brandy, whatever you like — but you really need to add some liquid some water or some stock depending on what you’re doing. You need vegetables, you need some herbs and spices, and maybe some oil with the alcohol to make it work.

3. How do you pair your food with the alcohol you’re using to cook?
   

   Well, I used the Martini Rosso with the shrimp, because the shrimp is sweet and the Rosso has a little sweetness to it that really brings out the flavour. So match like flavours with like flavours. And if you wanted to add a splash of vodka to the mix as well, to complement the vermouth—that would be excellent too. And don’t be shy about it! Experiment to get the right balance, but use it like you would a spice, or oil.  

4. What are three things that people should always keep in their kitchen?
   

   I always have a Parmigiano-Reggiano, I always have a box of pasta and I always have some tomato sauce. You can never go wrong when you have tomato sauce at home.

   MARTINI® ROSSO POACHED SHRIMPS WITH SALSA

   INGREDIENTS:

   2 LB BLACK TIGER SHRIMPS WITH SHELLS
   2 CUPS OF WATER
   2 CUPS OF CHOPPED VEGETABLES (COMBINATION OF
   ONIONS, CARROT AND CELERY)
   2 BAY LEAVES
   1 TBSP OF BLACK PEPPERCORNS
   SALT TO TASTE
   1 CUP OF MARTINI® ROSSO VERMOUTH

   PREPARATION:

   Boil the water with the vegetables, pepper, bay leaves; add a touch
   of salt and cook for about 10 minutes; strain the broth, add the
   MARTINI® ROSSO and bring to a boil again; add the shrimp and
   simmer for two minutes or until the shrimp is cooked; cool in icy
   water, remove the shells and set aside until needed.

   INGREDIENTS - SALSA:

   1 CUP OF DICED, PLUM TOMATOES
   2 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH HORSERADISH
   1 GREEN ONION, FINELY CHOPPED
   1 TBSP LIME JUICE
   2 TBSP KETCHUP
   2 TBSP MARTINI® EXTRA DRY VERMOUTH
   1 OZ VODKA (OR MORE)
   1 SPRITZ OF WORCHESTERSHIRE
   SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

   PREPARATION:

   Mix all the ingredients together, taste for the correct seasoning
   and rest refrigerated for a few hours, use as a dipping salsa for the
   shrimps.

   Serves four as appetizers.

   RECIPE CREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MARTINI BY CHEF MASSIMO CAPRA.

   Massimo Capra is the co-owner and executive chef of Mistura restaurant in Toronto. He has appeared on Restaurant Makeover and CityLine, and is a regular columnist for The Globe and Mail.  Check out Massimo’s new book, One Pot Italian, and more on his website massimocapra.com