Spirits & Liqueurs Vermouth

3 Creative Ways to Use Vermouth in Your Kitchen

negroni poached pears recipe

 Kelly Neil

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.

Give the mixing glass the day off and start stirring vermouth into surprising new dishes.

1. Fig Jam with Rosemary & Vermouth

fig jam with rosemary and vermouth recipe
Rachael White

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 sticky herbal spread that’s equally at home slathered on grilled cheese or stirred into cocktails.

Get the recipe.

2. Lobster Spaghetti Santorini-Style

lobster spaghetti recipe
Cooking for Keeps

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.

Get the recipe.

3. Negroni Poached Pears

negroni poached pears recipe
Kelly Neil

Prep 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.

Get the recipe.