Sabayon in Montreal offers aperos like the smoked mackerel rillette served in endive leaves, whipped ricotta with honey and black pepper with grilled focaccia and a festive negroni and orange amère (non-alcoholic option) cocktail.Two Food Photographers/The Globe and Mail
It all started in ancient Rome, when well-to-do citizens would treat themselves to a predinner nibble, or gustatio, and wash it down with honey-sweetened wine.
Over the centuries, the custom evolved, and Europe became the cradle of the aperitivo or aperitif, a beloved ritual that celebrates the simple joys of life.
Originally intended to be a light drink and small bite to prepare the palate for the coming meal, the aperitif is now synonymous with that magical time when friends gather to raise a glass to the end of the work day and ease into evening.
In France, the custom is an expression of the art de vivre, or art of living. And in Italy, it is the embodiment of la dolce vita, the sweet life. Now many countries – including Canada – are embracing the apero (the colloquial form of aperitif) with gusto precisely because of its simplicity. Meant to be relaxed, spontaneous and easy, the beauty of the apero is that it can be whatever you want it to be, says Montreal sommelier Marie-Josée Beaudoin.
The Festive Negroni at Sabayon.Two Food Photographers/The Globe and Mail
In other words, fancy canapes are not expected – a bowl of nuts, some olives and a chilled glass of prosecco will do just fine. “It is our favourite way to entertain,” says Beaudoin, who owns the celebrated eatery Sabayon with husband/chef Patrice Demers. “Especially this time of year, when so many of us are rushed off our feet, the apero is the best way to raise a toast to the people we love.”
Beaudoin admires the tradition so much that she wrote a book, l’Heure de l’Apéro (Aperitif Time), in 2016. “For us, it is a moment that reminds us to slow down and savour the company of family and friends, glass in hand.”
It’s aperitivo time: Recipes for make-ahead snacks and cocktails
McGill University English professor and food historian Nathalie Cooke says the apero is never intended to be a big meal but a “tasty little teaser” before the main event. “The apero is the preface or foreword to the story. Its job is to set the tone or the mood for what is coming.”
The ideal aperitif snack is a bit crisp and gets us salivating and ready to eat, Cooke says, creating “an interest or an opening for dining,” hence the word aperitivo, from aperire, Latin for “to open.”
Jeffrey Pilcher, professor of food studies at the University of Toronto, says the drinks are generally bitter, herbal and lower in alcohol. Traditionally they’re vermouths, sherries and sparkling wines, enjoyed either on their own or mixed with spirits or soda.
The tartness, bright citrus or earthy herbs of aperitif cocktails pair perfectly with a wide assortment of salty and savoury snacks, says Pilcher. Bite-sized amuse-bouche (French for mouth amuser) can include cheese and crackers, marinated olives, almonds, sardines and charcuterie. “The appeal of the apero is that you can serve what you have on hand,” he adds.
