Pineapple and sage martini (NOPI pg 298)

Ingredients

1 large pineapple, unpeeled, leaves trimmed and discarded (1.4kg)
4 cardamom pods, roughly crushed by hand or in a pestle and mortar
20 sage leaves, plus 2 extra to serve
1 x 700ml bottle of Tanqueray London dry gin
25ml lemon juice
20ml clove syrup (see below)

Clove syrup
250g caster sugar
4 whole cloves

This was the first ever cocktail to get on the menu when NOPI opened. It was created by Niall Downey, who was living with Scully at the time. The cloves make it particularly well suited to festive par ties . Its constant presence on our menu , however, hints at its suitability for drinking throughout the whole year.

You’ll make more of the pineapple purée than you need, so you can either freeze the remainder in batches, to be re-used when needed, or eat it as a delicious purée, swirled into semi-whipped cream or spooned on top of some plain yoghurt for breakfast. The remaining clove syrup can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks or frozen for longer.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
Wrap the pineapple in tin foil and roast in the oven for 3 hours. Remove and set aside to cool. Peel the pineapple and cut it, lengthways, into 4 wedges. Cut out and discard the core, then place the flesh in a blender. Blitz to form a purée and set aside.
Add the crushed cardamom pods and sage leaves to the bottle of gin and set aside for at least 3 hours, swirling the bottle from time to time. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discard the cardamom and sage and return the gin to the bottle.
To make the clove syrup, place the sugar in a medium saucepan with 250ml of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the cloves and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Lift out and discard the cloves, then set the syrup aside until completely cool.
Pour 100ml of gin into a mixing glass with 50ml of the pineapple purée, the lemon juice and 20ml of the clove syrup. Add ice, shake vigorously for 10 –15 seconds, and strain into pre-chilled martini glasses. Garnish each with a fresh sage leaf and serve at once.