Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

It’s June.

Half way through the year. It will soon be Christmas time again. Hey, don’t throw things at me just because I mentioned the C word! Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

But we are not there yet.

So back to June.

The sun is shining (maybe) and the sixth month of the year brings with it a glorious British event.

Wimbledon.

Whoop whoop! Two weeks of immaculately manicured lawn tennis courts being ripped up and ruined by muscle endowed tennis players. Well, some of them are. There are others who look like they could go to the gym a little more often, if you know what I mean.

Disclaimer: Other grand slam tournaments are available, but they’re not British so . . .

Wimbledon brings with it that quintessentially British fruit – the strawberry.

Strawberries, cream and champagne (possibly Pimms). You have to have these if you are lucky enough to go inside the green and purple gates.

So I hereby declare June ‘Strawberry Month’.

(This proclamation brings with it the connotation that all recipes posted in June will be strawberry related, so no pressure then . . .)

And while you are watching all that tennis on the telly, you’re going to need something to drink.

Something that echoes the sentiments of Wimbledon and strawberries.

What better than homemade strawberry lemonade.

Keep it in the fridge and you will never be far away from luscious refreshment.

It requires a little work, but it’s not difficult, and you can always make it slightly easier by using a food processor / blender.

I used San Pellegrino water because I wanted bubbles, but not ferocious jump up your nose bubbles. A gentle fizz. This is why I prefer San Pellegrino. Because it is lightly sparkling rather than volcanically eruptive. But use whatever you water you want. You can even use still if you really can’t cope with bubbles.

It’s even better over ice (if you have remembered to put some in the freezer, which I hadn’t. Doofus).

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Makes approx. 2 litres

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 5 lemons)
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 litre of carbonated water

Method:

1. Make a simple sugar syrup by placing the cup of sugar and water (tap water is fine) in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, stirring a little at the end to make sure there are no grains left. Leave to cool to room temperature.
2. Pour the cooled syrup into a jug and add the fresh lemon juice.
3. Place the strawberries into a bowl and mash them using a potato masher. Place a sieve over a clean bowl and strain the mashed strawberries to get the juice minus the pulp & seeds (using the back of a spoon to make sure you get it all). Some pulp & seeds may get through, but don’t worry about them. Alternatively you can put the strawberries in a food processor and blend to a pulp and then strain.
4. Pour the strawberry juice into the jug and top up with sparkling water.
5. Put some ice cubes in a glass and pour over.
6. Sit back, relax and sip.

PS – turn it into a cheeky cocktail by adding a shot of Absolute mango vodka. Delicious!