This is our homage to the city of Shiraz, famous through the centuries for its wine grapes. These days the memory of wine lingers only in the much-loved poetry of Hafez, and local grapes are grown for the table or pressed to make juice or verjuice. This easy and lovely jelly is made from sparkling grape juice that makes the finished dish refreshing and lightly fizzy on the tongue. It is lavishly decorated with sugared fruit and we like to imagine that something similar might have been served as part of a banquet spread in the Shah Abbas’s summer pavilion.
We set the jelly here in a ring mould. For an alternative, and equally stunning presentation, set the jelly in pretty glasses or glass bowls so the trapped bubbles are visible. Top with the frosted fruit, or serve it on the side.
Any tender fruit may be frosted, but always select unblemished, ripe fruit, and note that varieties with firm skin work best. Try a mixture of green and red grapes, cherries, blueberries and mandarins, perhaps. Prepare the fruit no more than three hours before serving, or the sugar will start to dissolve. You’ll need to prepare the jelly the day before it’s needed to ensure a good set and proportion of bubbles to jelly.