Spritz Snacks: Easy Bites That Make Your Spritz Shine
A quintessential summer evening, or aperitivo, in Italy demands an effervescent spritz cocktail paired with the right snacks — snacks that are crunchy and salty but also complement the bittersweet taste of the spritz. While the Spritz is characteristically Italian, people worldwide have begun consuming it in any and all seasons. Stocked with ingredients like a white wine (usually Prosecco), any Italian bitter liqueur of your choice, any soda and typically a citrus fruit garnish, you can blend your favourite Spritz in no time.
With a classic Aperol Spritz containing 9-10% alcohol, spritz cocktails have a wider appeal, thanks to their low ABV content. These drinks also require fewer ingredients and do not demand tricky proportions, becoming customisable for any occasion or season you want to make them in. With these essential features of a spritz in mind, your early evening drink, unlike liquors, is now ideal for a steady sipping and tasting, accompanied with the perfect nibbles at sundown or brunch. In Venice — the birthplace of Spritz — these small bites are called cicchetti (originating from the Latin word ‘ciccus’ and meaning ‘small quantity’). Here are some easy bites, to procure and eat, that will go hand in hand with frequent sips of your well-loved Spritz.
Robust Olives
While most people tend to add a garnish of olives in their spritz, and while that is also a popular choice, olives as a side with your favourite Spritz are a commonality too. However, these are not black or stuffed olives you toss into a pasta dish or pizza. We’re talking about chunky green olives to go alongside a bittersweet spritz. A few high-quality olives served alongside a spritz like a Venetian Spritz will add much-needed salt to the drink, since sweet and bitter flavours typically dominate the drink’s profile.
Also Read: An Aperol Spritz Recipe To Recreate At Home; Key Tips Included
Classic Potato Chips
Another go-to snack that adds just the right amount of salt when paired with any Spritz is a packet of potato chips. Bring out a snack bowl or two, fill them with these classic crisps and munch on them every now and then as you sip on your favourite Spritz. Potato chips also help balance the sweet and bubbly taste of most spritz cocktails because they are light, crunchy and simpler in flavour.
Crunchy Breadsticks
Aperitivos in Italy do not exist without a few breadsticks that can be paired with a range of spritz cocktails. In Italy, they are referred to as Torinesi and are considered an aperitivo staple. Furthermore, no two Torinesi are the same because they are rolled and stretched by hand, thus giving you a distinct shape every time you reach out for one in the middle of your tasting. They make for a fuss-free snack (and go even more perfectly with some cheese on the side)!
Covering the Gamut: Biscuits, Nuts and Sandwiches
The rest of the quick bites to match your pre-dinner Spritz include a wide range of biscuits, sandwiches and even salty nuts. The flavour that nutty foods like a handful of peanuts provides is quite similar to what potato chips deliver — they too are salty, crunchy and comforting on the palate.
However, to mix flavours up a bit, biscuits — or Tarallini as they call it in Italy —are buttered and slightly sweet, serving as a less robust option for a snack, but these are ideal if you’re not looking for something specifically salty like nuts and crisps. Biscuits carry very small quantities of salt but are also largely sweet.
Probably the one snack that might require a bit more preparation than the rest of the bites we’ve talked about here, sandwiches paired with hard-boiled egg halves or seafood (if you’re comfortable) add some meaty flavours into the snack profile. They are easy to make and you can customise the ingredients at home according to your liking. There are no set rules and you can become as creative as you’d like. While they’re not crunchy like the rest, they are suited for those who want to constantly have a variety of flavours by their side as they take sips of their bittersweet Spritz by the bay.
Having snacks by your side with your favourite cocktail no longer needs to be difficult. You can have the most perfect sipping before dinner by grabbing these easy snacks — and none of them take immense amounts of preparation. It’s a matter of just a few packets laid out in snack bowls.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
