Strawberry lemonade
Fragrant strawberries plus tangy homemade lemonade, topped up with sparkling water, make this strawberry lemonade a super refreshing summer drink.
Ingredients
- 450g/1lb ripe strawberries, plus extra to serve
- 5 unwaxed lemons
- 350g/12oz caster sugar
To serve
Method
Hull the strawberries and thinly slice into a bowl. Add the juice of 1 lemon and 100g/3½oz sugar and stir well. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight to allow the sugar and lemon juice to draw all the juice from the berries.
The next day, strain the strawberry juice into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve.
Tip the remaining 250g/9oz caster sugar into a pan, add 500ml/18fl oz water and the pared rind of 4 lemons. Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove the syrup from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the 4 pared lemons and set aside.
Strain the lemon syrup into the strawberry juice, add the lemon juice and stir. Pour into a large serving jug, add sparkling water to taste and serve with ice and extra slices of lemon, sliced fresh strawberries and mint leaves.
Recipe Tips
Using 1 litre sparkling water makes a very concentrated drink. If you prefer something less sweet, we've made it using 2 litres sparkling water, which was still delicious.