The key is a milk comprised of Italian almonds.
Picture: Bread and Salt
With good motive, American vacationers are suggested to not search out iced espresso in Europe. Chilly espresso does exist on the continent, however the common cafe doesn’t concern itself with making and storing buckets of chilly brew for pint-size to-go cups. And getting various cubes of ice in something is a respectable problem. As a substitute, a handful of regional iced espresso drinks fill the void, just like the frothy Grecian freddo, cream-topped einspanner, and traditional shakerato. However the perfect and arguably least appreciated of those is from Puglia — a two-ingredient drink of almond syrup layered with espresso over ice known as caffè Leccese.
I’ve not but been to Lecce, however I’m pleased to report that as a substitute of reserving a flight to Southern Italy, anybody who desires to do this can simply take a PATH prepare to New Jersey, the house of Bread and Salt. The Jersey Metropolis bakery is finest recognized for rustic pizza, crispy focaccia sandwiches, and old-school Italian specialties like fried baccalà and braised escarole. It’s the place that launched me to caffè Leccese. I’m satisfied it’s the finest model on this planet.
A typical caffè Leccese could resemble a plain shot of espresso on ice, whereas Bread and Salt’s model extra carefully resembles a small iced latte, distributing the sweetness with creamy equilibrium and a sinking layer of espresso on high.
“The syrup they use in Lecce is way thinner,” says Rick Easton, Bread and Salt’s proprietor, who first put the drink on his menu in 2022. As a substitute of the same old almond-flavored syrup, Easton appeals to dairy-loving Individuals with a wealthy almond milk he makes by mixing sticky Italian almond jam with scorching water till it reaches the consistency of half-and-half. His favourite jam is made by Marco Colzani in Lake Como, which mixes three kinds of native Sicilian almonds for the right mix of texture and taste. Easton landed on it after a shocking quantity of R&D; he additionally likes Caffè Sicilia’s almond unfold for the job because it’s made with the intensely fragrant Romana selection, which provides the milk a extra noticeable nuttiness. He has even experimented with grinding almonds to make the paste from scratch, however he prefers the constant outcomes that come from the jarred focus.
Since I can’t make it to Jersey Metropolis as usually as I’d prefer to drink the perfect iced espresso on this planet, I tried to re-create Bread and Salt’s almondy milk at residence, approximating Easton’s ratio of “only a hair over a pint” of scorching water per jar of almond unfold — at $22 per jar, it’s treasured — and emulsifying the combo with an immersion blender till the feel appears proper. Resist the urge to overly dilute this; it must be wealthy and candy sufficient to face as much as robust espresso and ice in a small however intense portion. And don’t skip the step of letting it chill utterly within the fridge earlier than including some to a glass of ice.
I topped mine with espresso comprised of the identical Capability Espresso beans the bakery makes use of. Whereas ingesting it, I calculated about $6 price of almonds in my glass, a determine that disappeared as the subsequent sip introduced a smile to my face, although I nonetheless gained’t pour Sicilian almond milk on my Fruity Pebbles. “It’s an costly drink,” says Easton, who expenses $6.50 for his model. “At first, we solely provided it in the summertime. However we found out fairly shortly that folks wish to drink it year-round, so it’s at all times on the menu.”
Combine it up.
Picture: Bread and Salt
EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.
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